Chak De India- Reviews (Pg 32)B-O(42) - Page 3

Shah Rukh to play hockey coach in Shimit's film

Subhash K. Jha [Friday, October 06, 2006>

Mumbai, Oct 6 (IANS) In what seems like a tongue-in-cheek homage to the spirit of sportsmanship, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been cast as the coach of a girls' hockey team in a film by "Ab Tak Chhappan" fame director Shimit Amin.

We have seen films about cricket and football, so a film on hockey comes as no surprise. In fact, Vivek Agnihotri is currently scripting a film on football.

Amin is seriously enthused about the film.

"It's a dying art form. While we continue to go into ecstasy over cricket we hardly seem to realise that hockey is a true-blue Indian game and we need to give it the respect it deserves," he told IANS.

The reticent moviemaker admits he doesn't play any sport.

"But I watch a lot of them. I've never played any sport. And I knew nothing about hockey until I researched for my film. I feel a detachment from the subject always provides added insights into the film. If you look at Hollywood they invite directors from the outside to make films about their themes and culture.

"Sam Mendes, who made the very American 'American Beauty' is British. Likewise, when I came to India from the US to make 'Ab Tak Chhappan' for Ram Gopal Varma, I knew as much about the workings of the Indian police force and 'encounter' killings as I did about hockey. The challenge to me is making a film that allows me to go into unexplored territory."

The director has cast girls as hockey players in the team.

"The girls have to be sporty and swift hockey players. It isn't easy. The game is no longer that popular. It requires physically fit players. And it looks like a struggle ahead to get girl players in place before we go into production."

Jaideep Sahni has scripted this very unusual film.

"This is a very exciting time to be a film director in Hindi cinema. Last year we had several films that broke the mould. Once in a while something comes along to push the envelope. After 'Ab Tak Chhappan' I wanted to make a film that was completely Indian in spirit."

Amin is all praise for his producers.

"I'm so glad I came to Yash Raj Films for my second film. After Ram Gopal Varma, I needed a producer who would provide me with complete creative freedom. I'm not the least surprised if I withdraw into my own work-shell and not react to such stories. I'd rather be seen than heard."

The director says he loves the portrayal of families in films.

"I love the idea of families staying together, interacting through crisis and drama. In fact, the film is also about family ties."

http://nowrunning.com/news/news.asp?it=8028

Shimit Amin on Shah Rukh Khan

By Subhash K. Jha, October 6, 2006 - 09:00 IST

We've seen films about cricket. And football….In fact Vivek Agnihotri is currently scripting a football film.

But hockey?! Shimit 'Ab Tak Chappan'Amin is directing a film centered around the game of hockey. In what looks like a seriously tongue-in-cheek homage to the spirit of sportsmanship, Shah Rukh Khan has been cast as the coach of an all-girls' hockey team.

Director Shimit Amin is seriously enthused about hockey. "It's a dying art form….While we continue to go into ecstasy over cricket we hardly seem to realize that hockey is a true-blue Indian game and we need to give it the respect it deserves."

The reticent movie maker admits he doesn't play any sport. "But I watch a lot of them. I've never played any sport. And I knew nothing about hockey until I researched for my film. I feel a detachment from the subject always provides added insights into the film . If you look at Hollywood they invite directors from the outside to make films about their themes and culture. Sam Mendes who made the very American

American Beauty is a Britisher. Likewise when I came to India from the US to make Ab Tak Chappan for Ram Gopal Varma, I knew as much about the workings of the Indian police force and encounter killings as I did about hockey. The challenge to me in making a film that allows me to go into unexplored territory."

The director has cast girls as hockey players in the team. "Yes we're working suitable girls who have to be sporty and swift hockey players. It isn't easy. The game is no longer that popular. It requires physically fit players. And it looks like a struggle ahead to get girl players in place before we go into production."

Jaideep Sahni has scripted this very unsual film. Says Shimit, "This is a very exciting time to be a film director in Hindi cinema. Last year we had several films that broke the mould. Once in a while something comes along to push the envelope. After Ab Tak Chappan I wanted to make a film that was completely Indian in spirit."

Shimit is all praise for his producers. "I'm so glad I came to Yashraj Films for my second film. After Ram Gopal Varma I again needed a producer who would provide me with complete creative freedom. I'm not the least surprised if I withdraw into my own work-shell and not react to such stories. I'd rather be seen than heard."

The director says he loves family ties as portrayed in films. "I love the idea of families staying together , interacting through crisis and drama. In fact the hockey film is also about family ties."

http://indiafm.com/news/2006/10/06/7986/index.html

Exclusive - The First Day Of Chak/Chuk De India

By: Abid

PlanetBollywood.com, Oct.1st, 2006

As we know ShahRukh Khan is playing a field hockey coach in Yash Raj's 'Chuk/Chak De India' , being directed by Shimit Amin of 'Ab Tak Chappan' fame . At the spacious Sports Club of Bharat Petroleum in a suburb of Mumbai , excitement is high , as the country's highest rated star arrives for the filming of scenes for the movie in the club's well maintained grounds .

It is a hot and humid afternoon and the first day of 'Ramzaan' . The slim , agile star is on the rectangular hockey field with the club's hockey enthusiasts warming up for the rehearsals and takes .

Though they are playing for fun and for warming up , Shah Rukh's drives elicit genuine appreciation from the young players who are not in the least inhibited by the fact that a mega movie star is in their midst .

" He's so informal and unassuming that at times it is difficult to believe that we are playing with ShahRukh Khan , " says one of the players honestly .

Amin upbeat on SRK starrer Chak De! India

By Businessofcinema.com Team

9 October 2006, 11:13 PM MUMBAI: Yash Chopra's next film starring ShahRukh Khan is based on international sports. Titled Chak De! India, the film is being directed by Shimit Amin (of Ab Tak Chappan fame).

The film will be shot in Melbourne, Sydney and other parts of Australia apart from a schedule in Mumbai.

Speaking about the film, Amin says, "Chak De! Indiais the story of a disgraced player, played by ShahRukh Khan. After a gap of seven years, he returns as the coach of the Indian women's hockey team. They arrive in Australia to play in the World Cup. As it turns out to be a battle of self-esteem and country's honor, what eventually unfolds is the climax of the film. We have introduced 11-12 girls in the film. The shooting of the film is on and we will be flying to Australia soon."

One of Australia's leading production company, Black Cat Films, who had earlier handled Salaam Namaste, is the on-line producer for the film. Hockey Victoria and State Netball Hockey Centre will also be supporting the film

Top Scoop: SRK to coach girls

In what seems like a tongue-in-cheek homage to the spirit of sportsmanship, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has been cast as the coach of a girls' hockey team in a film by "Ab Tak Chhappan" fame director Shimit Amin.

We have seen films about cricket and football, so a film on hockey comes as no surprise. In fact, Vivek Agnihotri is currently scripting a film on football.

Amin is seriously enthused about the film.

"It's a dying art form. While we continue to go into ecstasy over cricket we hardly seem to realise that hockey is a true-blue Indian game and we need to give it the respect it deserves," he told.

The reticent moviemaker admits he doesn't play any sport.

"But I watch a lot of them. I've never played any sport. And I knew nothing about hockey until I researched for my film. I feel a detachment from the subject always provides added insights into the film. If you look at Hollywood they invite directors from the outside to make films about their themes and culture.

"Sam Mendes, who made the very American 'American Beauty' is British. Likewise, when I came to India from the US to make 'Ab Tak Chhappan' for Ram Gopal Varma, I knew as much about the workings of the Indian police force and 'encounter' killings as I did about hockey. The challenge to me is making a film that allows me to go into unexplored territory."

The director has cast girls as hockey players in the team.

"The girls have to be sporty and swift hockey players. It isn't easy. The game is no longer that popular. It requires physically fit players. And it looks like a struggle ahead to get girl players in place before we go into production."

Jaideep Sahni has scripted this very unusual film.

"This is a very exciting time to be a film director in Hindi cinema. Last year we had several films that broke the mould. Once in a while something comes along to push the envelope. After 'Ab Tak Chhappan' I wanted to make a film that was completely Indian in spirit."

Amin is all praise for his producers.

"I'm so glad I came to Yash Raj Films for my second film. After Ram Gopal Varma, I needed a producer who would provide me with complete creative freedom. I'm not the least surprised if I withdraw into my own work-shell and not react to such stories. I'd rather be seen than heard."

The director says he loves the portrayal of families in films.

"I love the idea of families staying together, interacting through crisis and drama. In fact, the film is also about family ties."

http://www.santabanta.com/cinema.asp?pid=12092

Indira Kannan: You are sporting a new look these days (a beard). What is the reason behind it? Some of the fans say that it is a scruffy look but most of them like it a lot.

ShahRukh Khan: This look is for my latest film Chak De India in which I play a Muslim character. Muslims are supposed to have beards and it's the same reason why they are stopped at airports and frisked. I play this guy who is a little sad in life. He has just one aim, which is to see the Indian tri-colour hoisted with all the other countries' flags. He lives this dream and the story unfolds.

Chak De India slated for Aug 2007 release

Call it good luck or sheer skill, cinematographer Sudeep Chatterjee has never had to take note of the box-office. For, whatever the fate of the movie on Friday night, he has always managed to walk away with critical acclaim -- and new projects. Think Road, Iqbal, Kaalpurush, Dor and his latest, Jaan-e-Maan, and you will know what we mean.

That's also the reason why he's busy shooting ShahRukh Khan's Chak de! India (produced by Yash Raj Films, directed by Shimit Amin and slated for an August 2007 release) in Melbourne. "Work is pouring in. I took up Chak de because of the newness it promises," Chatterjee tells us, from Melbourne. "It's an out-and-out sporty film… a genre no one has attempted in Indian cinema." And then, he lets us in on a secret: "As a kid I grew up with the excitement of the radio commentaries of Gavaskar scoring centuries and the Kolkata football league. That's the kind of excitement I will try to explore in this film." If Chatterjee can replicate even a fraction of that excitement of the heady 70s when radio went ga ga over football and cricket, Chak de will score a hit.

http://www.financialexpress.com

What Next After Hockey For Shah Rukh?

Aditya Chopras new film, 'Chak De India', has 16 new girls with Shah Rukh. Since the film is on hockey, the girls have been trained in the game by professional coaches for six months. Although ShahRukh Khan too has undergone training, we're told that he has the advantage of having been a good hockey player in his younger days. Since SRK and the girls will be playing hockey in the film, Adi Chopra and director Shimit Amin have taken some real-life hockey players too for the roles. Adi will also have a hockey coach and physiotherapist on his sets throughout the making of the film. After football in 'Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna' and now hockey in 'Chak De India', we wonder if it's cricket next for SRK. Now this reminds us of 'Lagaan', and 'Iqbal'. Nothing like Cricket to woo the Indian masses!

SRK: Hounded by the Aussie press!

He somehow managed to soothe the hounding media out here (with a series of press and television interviews) before he could scoot off on a long schedule of Chak De in Australia. But being so far away from filmi land, there's no respite for our King Khan. Apparently the Aussie press is also hovering around SRK for bytes and interviews, and the actor is sweetly obliging a select few. So when he needs to take a breather from a team of eleven beauties (yes, he's shooting with eleven lovelies) he turns to the media fellows for a t?te-??-t?te. That's the SRK we know - everywhere he goes, he takes his charm with him!

http://movies.indiatimes.com/quickies/423602.cms

SRK in Australia!

Bollywood's newly crowned Don, SRK is right now shooting camping in Australia. "He's in Australia shooting for Yash Chopra's Chak De which is being directed by Shimit Amin of Ab Tak Chappan fame. The film is based on sports and that's why the main part has been shot in Melbourne and Sydney," says a unit member. The film marks the return of King Khan to the Chopra camp after alleged differences which kept them away from each other. Must say for the Chopras and SRK, all's well that end's well!

Indiatimes