DANGAL - MOVIE REVIEW

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 !!