In one of the many
intriguing scenes in the film, a young girl, forced into child marriage makes
our “Heroes” realize why their father was probably right in doing what he was!
And that creates a beautiful balance between the ethos of feminism and
patriarchy, silently hinting at why both the extreme ethos are extremely
dangerous and why there exists a need for co existence! Dangal is all about
this balance.
The characters here, despite
being from a biopic are relatable, purely for a fact that none of the characters
have singularity of emotion and every character is equally susceptible to
normal human fallings. For a film that achieves this kind of characterization,
audience involvement is a guarantee for sure.
A young Omkar gives up his
career to make his Tau live his dream. The girls give up their childhood to
make their father live his dream. The father gives up on everything he has to
make his girls live their lives like a dream. Dangal is much more than just
your run of the mill sport biopic.
Dangal is a rare film where
everything came together seamlessly on screen, right from the performances to
the technicalities. The editor has done a splendid job at keeping the film
engaging despite a run time of around 3 hours, ably supported by a stellar
screenplay.
And if someone deserves an
out of the box mention, it has to be Amitabh Bhattacharya, the lyricist. Back
in the day, when he penned poetry for Udaan and Lootera, I had almost, in my
head, hailed him as the Gulzar of the coming generation. And frankly, his recent
work had not been inspiring, to keep it really simple. But Dangal is where you
realize his mastery yet again.
The music arrangement by
Pritam is average but Amitabh, with his words has made Dangal an absolutely
admirable album. Gilheriyaan and Naina (Arijit yet again displays his ability
to make a complicated song sound ridiculously simple) stand out as the songs of
2016 for me! And just you feel like running out of the mood, get on Daler Paaji
to croon into Dangal-Dangal!
Another highlight of the
film is the costume design by Maxima Basu. Dangal should surely be a nominee
for the best costume design in the coming award season. The cinematography is
visually appealing and captures the tensions and emotion exactly the way it
should have been. The commentary during the wrestling matches remains steady,
the supporting cast performs ably. So with so much right going on for Dangal,
what could possibly go wrong?
Nitesh Tiwari tells a tale
with enough substance for the audience to chew on. The film has a settled flow
and minimal abruptions. However, towards the fag end of the film, the grip over
characters goes haywire, clichéd montages take center stage and a movie which
had survived sans dramatic influences for most of its run time, falls back on
to them. This, in the larger picture, is a minor hiccup but it just stops Dangal
from acquiring that special place that it possibly deserved.
The Phogat sisters are a
find. The fact that they manage to hold on to their own in front of Aamir,
speaks volumes of their talent. Sakshi Tanwar, despite the limited screen time
and dialogues etches a place for herself in the hearts of the viewers.
Aparshakti Khurana, the
doting brother, is an absolute crackle on screen. His comic timing is excellent
and as a narrator, we view the film from his perspective. His mannerisms and
tone suit the flow of the film.
Aamir Khan has lived the
role of Mahavir Singh. This is his performance right in the zone of Lagaan,
Taare Zameen Par, Rang De Basanti etc. It takes mastery over the craft of
acting for a superstar to play second fiddle to the script. And whenever Aamir
has done that, the results have been phenomenal. The only shortcoming was that
while Aamir aged physically and emoted perfectly, the voice, pitch etc still
remained that of the young Mahavir Singh! So when you hear him shooting
dialogues towards the fag end of the film, you do not really feel the fact that
here is an aged Mahavir Singh speaking to and for his daughters.
Dangal is a must watch.
While we have had sport biopics coming out in numbers recently, apart from Pan
Singh Tomar and Bhaag Milkha Bhaag to an extent, there has been none that has
stayed with me once I have left the theatre. Dangal therefore fills up the void
by becoming a film that told the story of sporting glory and doing the
unimaginable with the finesse that it almost felt like slice of life film most
of the time.
LATHH GAAD DIYA BHAI !!
