'Chak De!' - commentary on sexism in India: NYT

New York, Aug 12 (IANS) The "greatest merit" of the new Shah Rukh Khan starrer "Chak De! India", now running across the US, "is its commentary on sexism in India", says the New York Times.

"The director, Shimit Amin, strikes a buoyant, propulsive tone, replacing the customary Bollywood production numbers with exhilarating musical montages of team practice," says the leading American mainline daily in a 400-word review Sunday by Andy Webster.

"In fact, the film's greatest merit is its commentary on sexism in India. As it should, 'Chak De! India' gives the women, in the closing credits, the last word," he says in a review titled "Chak De! India' - 'You Go, Girl,' as Translated into Hindi".

"For his part, Khan, to his credit, lets his co-stars' youthful charisma carry the movie. He also laudably portrays a man who vigorously and unabashedly advocates the advancement of women."

Webster says, "The making-of-a-team sports movie is a timeworn genre, and yet 'Chak De! India' ('Go, India!') finds new variations. Though the game here is field hockey, those fondly recalling the United States soccer team's first-place finish in the 1991 Women's World Cup will find a lot to like.

"Of course, there are conventions", he says giving a longish synopsis of the film noting "the assured Bollywood veteran Shahrukh Khan" takes the role of "a former player for India's national field hockey team who missed a fateful play against Pakistan, costing a championship and making him a pariah".

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Chak De India