Create a storyboard on movie Dangal
Answers
I have a friend who’s a mixed martial arts fighter who talks about nothing but fighting. Mixed martial arts is his life, although he has a day job. He has two kids he’s been training since they were little. They love training with their dad, but I often wonder if he’s projecting his own ambitions on his children.
I couldn’t help but think of that friend of mine while watching Dangal (Wrestler). Because at the very heart of the film is the same question. Whether the father is living out his own dream by proxy.
The story of Mahavir Singh Phogat, a real-life ex-wrestler who managed to overcome societal barriers to train his two daughters to become international wrestling champions, makes for an inspiring sports movie, and one cannot really go wrong with sports movies. But Dangal takes it a step further by being a critique of both the Indian government’s lack of support for the country’s sports talents and Indian society’s male-dominated perspective. It’s the latter that forms the backbone of the movie.
And like all Aamir Khan’s movies, Dangal is endlessly entertaining, with a lot of humour and lighthearted moments amid the heavy undertones. The film has a great rhythm and every element is so well-placed that it’s hard to fault it technically. Aamir seems to make it his mission these days to imbue every one of his movies with issues that matter. When he does it well, like his self-directed Taare Zameen Par (2007), the result is beautiful, heartfelt and feels very personal. He’s also prone to dishing out social commentaries in fast-food fashion, like in the equally breathlessly-entertaining PK (2014).
In Dangal, the issue tackled is the position of women in Indian society, whether they are meant to be in the kitchen and to serve the patriarch as tradition requires, or whether they can or should be more. And this is where problems set in, making it difficult to elevate Dangal to among the top best films this year.
The intention here is noble. After all, this is Aamir Khan, the man who has taken a lot of flak for his uncompromising views on various issues he sees plaguing his country, sometimes even at the risk of his own reputation and well-being. There’s definitely no question about his sincerity here.