Chak De! India (2007) on Netflix
Kabir Khan, captain of India's men's field hockey team, misses a penalty stroke against Pakistan and leaves the game in disgrace. Seven years later he takes charge of the women's national team.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb8.1/1092,784 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes94%
Trailer
Plot summary
During the closing minutes of a World Cup match in Delhi, India trails Pakistan 1-0 and captain Kabir Khan misses a penalty stroke. When the media prints a photograph of him shaking hands with the Pakistani captain, the gesture is read as sympathy for the rival side, and prejudice drives Khan and his mother from their home. Seven years later Uttam Singh persuades Mr. Tripathi, who heads the hockey association, to hand Khan the neglected women's national team. He inherits sixteen players split by regional bias and old grudges: Komal Chautala of Haryana feuds with Preeti Sabarwal of Chandigarh, Balbir Kaur bullies Rani Dispotta and Soimoi Kerketa, and Mary Ralte and Molly Zimik face discrimination. Captain Vidya Sharma battles family pressure to quit the sport, while Preeti's fiancé Abhimanyu Singh belittles her hockey career.
Cast
- Arya Menonas Gul Iqbal
- Seema Azmias Rani Dispotta
- Nisha Nairas Soimoi Kerketa
- Sandia Furtadoas Nethra Reddy
- Masochon V. Zimikas Molly Zimik
- Kimi Laldawlaas Mary Ralte
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Chak De! India (2007)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Salman Khan was first considered for Kabir Khan but declined, calling the film "not my genre"; Shah Rukh Khan, who had also turned it down over scheduling clashes with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna and Don, was later confirmed, partly because he played hockey in college.
- Everything in the hockey scenes was planned, including the penalty stroke Kabir Khan misses; hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi said that single shot took nearly 20 hours because he was keen that it look realistic.
- Writer Jaideep Sahni modelled Kabir Khan on Maharaj Krishan Kaushik, then coach of the women's team, who suggested he meet hockey player Mir Ranjan Negi, a man who had faced accusations of throwing the match against Pakistan at the 1982 Asian Games.
- The title track "Chak De! India" grew into a sports anthem: Salim Merchant said it took off especially after India won the 2011 Cricket World Cup, and Virat Kohli sang it to the crowd after the team's World Cup victory.
- The media called the 16 actresses who played the players the "Chak De! Girls", and the Screen Awards judges gave the Best Supporting Actress prize to that whole group of 16 at the 14th Screen Awards in 2008.
