‘You have to fight in a way that people will remember you…’
I try to be open-minded about all aspects of cinema, and working my way through the IMDB top 250 film list has forced me to explore areas of cinema that I hadn’t previously considered. I’ll be honest, I’ve struggled with both Bollywood entries that I’ve watched thus far. 3 Idiots is undoubtedly an enjoyable experience but it was also my first taste of Bollywood so it had the advantage of being fresh (to me at least). Dangal didn’t have that luxury and so it took me four sittings to finally complete it…
Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan) is a former wrestler who is obsessed with the idea of having a son following in his footsteps. Biology has other plans, however, when Mahavir sires only daughters – two of them in fact – namely, Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) and her younger sister Babita (Sanya Malhotra). Of the two, it is the former who takes up her father’s hobby with the most gusto and soon finds herself in line for a gold medal.
So, basically, this is Rocky, The Karate Kid or The Mighty Ducks or any of those rags-to-riches sports films. Sure, it’s based on a true story but we have seen all of this many, many times before. While Khan is wonderful here (as he was in 3 Idiots) and the rest of the cast is likeable and charming, there is very little to set this aside from many other sports films that follow the same arc. It is also way too long and features lots of terrible music.
Perhaps cultural differences preclude me from understanding what makes this film so special for so many people but for me, this is simply just another sports movie. It certainly isn’t the 125th greatest film of all time as currently claimed by IMDB.