Dangal REVIEWS| BOX OFFICE Updates - Page 8

The last major release of the year Dangal is around the corner and the year could end on a high as Dangal is one of the very few films that can be called a real Hindi film for the wider audience. There have been three major releases which can be called real Hindi films this year Sultan, M.S. Dhoni - The Untold Story and now Dangal. Generally today the attempts in Hindi cinema are for urban stories and these so called cool multiplex films where think they are making a multiplex film but in fact its just a metro film. Today there are more multiplexes outside the metros than in them so you may be thinking you have made a multiplex film but today all of the multiplex audience is not the same like it was 10 years back as multiplexes were generally there only in and around the metros.

Its not these heartland rustic films are certain to be succesful but what they give, is a chance of a big number due to wide appeal. The only other way for a big number is a big budget commercial action extravaganza but this is getting tougher as a demanding audience wants the action to get bigger and bigger which put demands on the budget of the film. There has not been any of these this year.

So with this big action extravaganza out of reach for most the next best bet is that Hindi heartland film of ant genre. These films are set in real India and have relatable characters, yes a M.S.Dhoni as a film goes slightly wrong in storytelling and a weak hero who limits the potential business but the audience gives it a chance as they relate with the rags to riches story of M.S. Dhoni which is shown in the promos. The hero issue for M.S Dhoni - The Untold Story had to be there for the film as the audience would have found hard to relate a star to the character of M.S. Dhoni so its catch 22 for that film. There is no such situation here with Dangal as Aamir Khan is among the top three most popular stars of the day.

It is a weird situation that it was Aamir Khan who was in the forefront of this urban and cool cinema wave in 2001 with Lagaan (setting may be rural but the treatment and story telling was urban which meant restricted appeal) and Dil Chahta Hai which many in the industry at that time actually believed was the way forward only to come up a cropper. Actually with Dil Chahta Hai and how a certain segment of the industry believed in its very mediocre success has a part to play in the poor fortunes of the industry today as a huge section of the industry went barking up the wrong tree but with corporates around to shoulder the losses, the mistakes were repeated again and again.

Dangal unlike a Lagaan or Dil Chahta Hai is the real thing, it is basically what Hindi cinema should be and this time if it is followed it will only benefit the industry unlike 2001 but the industry has a habit of following wrong paths and keeping away from the right ones as maybe its the easy way out. This is not about Dangal being hugely appreciated and smashing records as that may or may not happen but what this heartland cinema does is put you in a position to have a chance of universal appreciation and if that comes the rest looks after itself.

Interval time in #Dangal. Entertainment, subtle message and some brilliant performances.Dangal keeps you thoroughly involved utvfilms

Dangal quick movie review: Aamir Khan's film has the best written first half of 2016

Here is what the first half of Aamir Khan's Dangal all about.

Fans wait eagerly to watch Aamir Khan's film which is a once in a year occurrence. This year the actor brings Dangal. The sports based drama is based on the life of Mahavir Singh Phogat, and his daughters whom he taught the sport of wrestling. Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra star as Geeta Phogat and Babita, the two daughters, respectively. Dangal has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari. Bollywoodlife's Editor-in-Chief Tushar P Joshi is watching the film, and the first half just got over. Here is what he has to say about the film so far:

"Aamir Khan's Dangal has the best written first half of 2016. The film opens with a bang and has some amazing moments right till the interval. Aamir plays Mahavir Singh Phogat whose dream is to have a son who will win him a medal at the Olympics. Fate has some other plans for him and instead of a son he has four daughters. Sakshi Tanwar plays his wife who refuses to understand his obsession with wrestling. The pace is quick and we are introduced to Geeta and Babita as two kids who happen to beat up a village boy who was calling them names. From there begins the journey of Dangal. The journey of discovery where Aamir sees the potential in Geeta and Babita and trains them to become wrestlers.

The comparisons to Salman Khan's Sultan might creep into your head before you enter the theatre but once the ball sets rolling there is no justification to the comparison. Dangal is very different from Sultan with the only common element being the backdrop of wrestling. Aamir is as usual in top form but it is the child actors playing Geeta and Babita who win your heart with their performance. There are tons of seeti and taali maar scenes in the first half and the writing is incredible. Geeta's first fight and Aamir's dialogue with Sakshi are some stand out scenes.

# This is certainly Aamir's finest performance in last couple of years. The Aamir we really missed after 3 Idiots. He is back with a punch.

# Girish Kulkarni, the Marathi actor who was fantastic as an ugly cop, shines here as an arrogant national coach.

# You can't lose focus. Sports need discipline and the beginning of the second half shows that.

Movie Review: Aamir Khan's punch-packed Dangal is a must-experience

Go ahead, make your day. Here's one of Bollywood's most powerful films on hope and glory in years

Get this right away. Never you mind the familiarity of its theme (triumph against the fierce odds on the wrestling front in the vein of Sultan), the spoiler alert contained intrinsically in the story chiselled from real-life events, the often avoidable of slow-mo and the taxing running length of 2 hours-41 minutes. Such negatives turn out to be trivial hems and haws.

Because, here's quite simply a marvellously crafted, acted and narrated must-experience on the big wide screen. The audacious biopic is engrossing and moving (only Ram Madhvani's Neerja and Hansal Mehta's Aligarh compare to Dangal this year), and above all invites you to care about its humaneness and credibly etched central characters, thereby stirring your emotional reserves.

Indeed, only the boulder-hearted are likely to be left unmoved by Dangal co-written and directed by Nitesh Tiwari. Quite a surprise packet this, coming from Tiwari who can be inconsistent (he co-directed the eminently likeable children's film Chillar Party and then solo helmed the just about theekh-thaak Bhoothnath Returns).

Evidently master-minded by actor-producer Aamir Khan, the bio-saga lionises the former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat who coached his daughters -- Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) and Babita (Sanya Malhotra) towards triumph at the female wrestling bouts at the Commonwealth Games of 2010. Female is the key-word here. Depicting the prejudice against young women from a smalltown of Haryana who venture into an arena traditionally associated with macho pahelwans, clearly advances the portrayal of women who justly refuse to be subjugated in our mainstream movies.

"Maari chhoriyan chhoron se qam hai kya," ( "Are my girls inferior to any boy?"), boasts a father who had once longed for a male child to continue the kushti tradition. The belated awareness about gender parity dawns on Mahavir Singh when his daughters, during their growing up years, demonstrate that they won't tolerate any bullying from the village boys.

Ensues a high drama punctuated with resilience, tension, societal pressures of the chauvinistic kind, grappling with the sports Establishment and nail-biting combats which push you to the edge of the seat. Inevitably, there are stretches detailing the rigorous training of the girls bound for glory (mandatory for sports films ranging from the Sylvester Stallone Rocky series to Chak De India!, Sultan and more) Yet these are so authentically recreated that you're hooked.

Covering a span of decades, the screenplay showcases Mahavir Singh as a lean machine in his bygone combative days to the paunchy father on a mission near-impossible. That Aamir Khan added kilos galore to his frame to get the physical look of his character right, is just one facet of his strenuously methodic, Haryanvi diction-accented and implosiveness, all of which add up to a terrific tour de force performance. Newcomers Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra are nuanced, conveying a semblance of vulnerability despite their tenacious exteriors. As their mother, Sakshi Tanwar, fits in with the supporting ensemble perfectly. The child artistes enacting Jr.Geeta and Jr Babita, Zaira Hasim and Suihani Bhatnagar, are nothing short of brilliant.

Frankly, the mandatory background songs composed by Pritam are obtrusive at points. The background score, however strident it may be, is still quite mood-enhancing. Undoubtedly, the alternately bright and low-lit cinematography is one of the film's assets. Ditto the production design and costumes.

From the look of things, Dangal must have been a difficult enterprise both in its writing and execution. Passages from Phogat's true story have been subtracted and others highlighted. Fair enough.

Any which way, this film of sinew and substance from the Bollywood arena concludes the year with one helluva knockout. You don't need a recommendation from me or anyone else: just see.