|
opinion
Only One Bully Here
It's as if a chastened Chappell taught the Chak De hero how not to coach
|
cinema: chake de india
It has only hockey, not cricket. Yet, this SRK-starrer has hit it big.
Namrata Joshi
|
|
interview
It had no heroine but 16 new girls. There was no love story, no villain. The nation is changing. I think the film reflects that spirit.
Outlook
|
|
|
Web Exclusive
The script-writer on what inspired him, as he went about reinventing the most well-worn stereotypes and the most predictable of plots.
Namrata Joshi
|
|
Web Exclusive
"The characters and their journey was so wonderfully conceived, I was hooked," says the director, who's been in the US for most of his life
Namrata Joshi
|
|
|
|
Coaches Kabir Khan and Greg Chappell; an Indian Muslim and a foreigner. The Indian women's hockey team and the national men's cricket team. Reel life and real life. The comparisons, at the outset, seem almost ludicrous. But hang on a bit, and you will realise that there are as many similarities between Kabir and Greg, as there are differences.
Both men planned strategies to help India win the World Cup. While Kabir did succeed in bagging the Hockey World Cup—that's in the movie Chak De India—Greg failed dismally in the West Indies. Here, we look at how and why the two men achieved such different results, how both tried similar lines of attack, but one ended up with a triumphant smile and the other left his job in absolute disgrace.
One problem that both Kabir and Greg encountered was the 'Dada' culture. Both had to grapple with the egos and stature of three senior players in their teams—Kabir with with Bindia, Aliya and Gunjan, and Greg with Sourav, Sachin and Rahul. At least one of the senior players in each case thought they knew as much as their coach, if not more.
Greg thought Sourav had an "attitude" problem and was a "bad influence" on the other team members, while Kabir told Bindia that "is team mein sirf ek goonda ho sakta hai aur woh main hoon (this team can have only one bully and that's me)". Greg kicked Sourav out of the team before the Calcuttan crashed into the World Cup squad, and Kabir didn't play Bindia properly in the World Cup matches until the semis against South Korea.
However, Kabir gained the respect of Bindia & Co because of his team's performance. Also, he showed his admiration for the former captain when he told her in the locker room before the semis that she was the only one who could crack the woman-to-woman marking that Korea excelled in. Buoyed, Bindia played like a champ and created enough scoring opportunities as the centre-half.
In comparison, Greg got caught up in politics and egos. He had to deal with pulls and pressures from all sides, including the BCCI. Moreover, the Aussie didn't realise how much Indian fans revere their cricketers—Greg and Dravid were jeered by the Calcutta crowd after Sourav's exit. The coach's finger gesture against the hostile crowd didn't help. His attack on MPs who supported Sourav's inclusion only made matters worse.
Unlike Kabir, who clearly knew his larger objective, Greg became a 'Dada' himself and was obsessed with himself. Kabir faced no external pressures, as no one was interested in women's hockey and so he could focus fully on the team, but Greg was sucked into a politico-socio-sports vortex, partly of his own making. As a result, his attention was constantly diverted from his team and its performance. Perhaps that's why Greg was never able to transform his band of cricketers into a group knit together by team spirit and national pride.
Kabir inculcated three changes in the attitude of his players that are critical in a winning combination. He made them play for national honour—notice the way he denigrates those who introduce themselves as ones from a particular state and appreciates it when one of them loudly proclaims "Vidya, India". He made them play for the team. "Pehle aap India ke liye khelte hain, phir aap team ke liye, aur agar thodi bahut jagah bach jaye to aap apne liye khelte hain." (First you play for India, then for the team, and if there's any bit left you play for yourself.) This outlook peaked in the finals, when the two forwards—Preeti and Koumal—helped each other score goals, instead of dribbling on their own to become the highest goal-scorer. Kabir also forced his team to concentrate on physical fitness.
Greg too had a similar 'winning' blueprint, only that he failed dismally. By changing his combination too often, and getting Sourav out, he increased fears and apprehensions among the players. Rather than playing for the team or the country, the cricketers only performed for themselves, not sure when they would be asked to go. Backed by their fans and administrators, many of them refused to listen to their coach. Finally, Greg had to literally chak de Team India, and head back to Australia, a bitter and defeated man.
|
cinema: chake de india
It has only hockey, not cricket. Yet, this SRK-starrer has hit it big.
Namrata Joshi
|
|
|
interview
It had no heroine but 16 new girls. There was no love story, no villain. The nation is changing. I think the film reflects that spirit.
Outlook
|
|
|
Web Exclusive
The script-writer on what inspired him, as he went about reinventing the most well-worn stereotypes and the most predictable of plots.
Namrata Joshi
|
|
|
Web Exclusive
"The characters and their journey was so wonderfully conceived, I was hooked," says the director, who's been in the US for most of his life
Namrata Joshi
|
|
|
|
|
|
|