Project 365: Day 232 — Dangal
Amidst the wedding celebrations, I almost forgot to mention the great film I watched yesterday — Dangal.
Dangal which refers to wrestling is based on the true story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a former wrestler who trained his daughters, who went on to win international championships for India.
Phogat played by Aamir Khan is disappointed every time he has a daughter, for in his mind, only a son can bring India the ‘gold’ glory he never could. Only when he sees his daughters having beaten up a boy for abusing them, does the penny drop — even his own girls can do it. And so he begins putting them through gruelling hours of training, denying them their girlhood in the process. While other girls in the village marry early, he chops off their hair and makes them practice every morning. Eventually, the story focuses on the older daughter Geeta winning her first Gold for India against all odds.
This film hit home for me on just one count. First, it’s the right time to be talking about the girl child. Especially in the right context. In states like Punjab and Haryana where the female sex ratio is abysmal, where girls are married off too early and taught that they have no life outside the home, it’s either revolutionary or complete blasphemy to want to change the norms. Phogat went against the norms with his daughters. It doesn’t just happen by teaching sons they should chip in too. Encourage the women, teach them that they’re no less than men.
The conditions in Indian sporting aren’t the best either. Google the term ‘Produnova’ and Dipa Karmakar and you’ll know the girl could’ve lost her life performing the stunt. She didn’t have the same kind of support (financial or even emotional, I imagine) that a Simone Biles may have had. Such is the condition of sporting in India. Especially women’s sporting. Lack of funds, lack of good honing, the right facilities.
What has stayed with me, aside from the incredible storytelling are the film’s performances from Aamir Khan’s Phogat to his wife’s silences that speak louder than words (beautifully played by Sakshi Tanwar) to the kids! The two girls who played young Gita and Babita were superb and due credit also to the girls who played them when they grew older.
Dangal is a beautiful film. As I write this, I feel like walking into a theater to watch it again.
Those of you who don’t know Hindi, I’d recommend you watch the film with subtitles.
Here’s the trailer of Dangal:
