Kabir Khan and Muhammed bin Tughlaq: An interesting case of nick-naming

Muhammad bin Tughlaq of Delhi's Tughlaq dynasty has been engraved in history books as the 'mad' ruler. Sure he took outrageously radical steps of governance. For instance, he introduced copper currency coins and equated them with the silver dinars, and shifted his capital (not just the governing centre but the entire population) from Delhi to a city in the Deccan which he named Daulatabad. These two are seen as the primary reasons for his failure, along with his over-ambitious zeal to conquer as much of the world as perhaps Alexander had done. What is often neglected and much misunderstood is his keen, obsevant and diligent mind, and his unrelenting will to always do the best and the just for his people.

The 'antagonist' in the film Chak De India, Bindia Naik, draws an interesting comparison between Tughlaq and the national women's hockey team's new coach Kabir Khan. The narrative is located in Delhi, and Naik, searching for a suitable example of a crazy tyrant-type ruling figure, nicknames Khan as Tughlaq. Coach Kabir Khan, like Tughlaq, trains the women's team in ways suitable perhaps only for its male counterparts. Their fitness drills are greulling, the playing tactics unlike any the girls have ever seen before, and the attitude of the coach strict and demanding. Naik as the most experienced member in the team is deeply averse to the changes, having been accustomed to the flighty, prejudiced and non-chalant attitude of the hockey officials. Her arrogance, pride and disrespect devoids her of the oportunity to be captain of the team which further infuriates her. She hates being sidelined and always being told what to do and how to play etc, while she would rather be the one holding all the reins. She even manages to move popular opinion against the coach.

Kabir Khan flirts with unconventional strategies to build a team based on strength, courage, confidence, motivation, integrity and genuine pride in the game. He turns a belligerent and diverse group of people to unite against him, and then watches as the spark turns into fire provoking and reasoning the girls to unite as a team. He uses his own experience and skill to lead the team to play to its strengths. Like Tughlaq, Khan is often misunderstood by the people he is commanding over. His intentions are brought to question repeatedly, owing to a humiliating defeat that ended his career.

What is most interesting for me is a reference that I can draw with Girish Karnad's play Tughlaq. Karnad's play is a Nehruvian allegory of the 'foolish' king, that draws attention to his callous yet well-meaning governance. In relation to the film, Khan falls short of being Tughlaq, as his strategies and efforts are not ignorant or fallacious but keenly directed towards a purpose. We never see the coach lose sight of his perspective or falter due to his own faults. He knows what he has to do and where he stands. He has no misconceptions. Therefore, Naik's labeling is a result of her lack of understanding and foresight, and in no way reflects upon the actual persona of Kabir Khan.

Chak de!

On the happy eve of the Independence Day, I ventured out to watch Srk's new film Chak de India. On the whole, the film wasn't a let down. The screenplay as well as the cinematography were taut, Srk was his usual inmitiable self, and Salim-Sulieman's music was impressive and blended well to the overall feel of the film. However, the scene stealers were the sixteen girls who rise to fame in the women's hockey championship as well as the testing waters of the Indian film industry. Of them, Tanya Abrol as Balbir Kaur, Chitrashi Rawat as Komal Chautala, Sagarika Ghatge as Preeti Sabharwal, Vidya Malvade as Vidya Sharma and Shilpa Shukla as Bindia Naik definitely stand out, simply because screen space and narrative priority is in their favour. They are brilliant in their respective roles. The film does not disappoint, nor does it leave anything to the imagination. Well, most hindi films work in the way that even before you reach the climax of the film (or indeed even before watching the film) you mostly know what the end will entail. Hindi films often do not work toward a plot ending in revelation, but rather how the expected end would be achieved. The climactic sequence in Chak De of the hockey final between India and Australia promises edge of the seat action as any final telecast live on TV would. In fact, watching this film in a cinema hall surrounded by people from all walks and talks of life in delhi, recreates the scene of any real-life live telecast of a sought after sport.

Though the film tries to be vehement on its nationalistic, unity-in-diversity stance so appropriate for the spirit of the Day, it is fraught with cliches. The issue of the State having been divided into states where often the criterion of difference is language, is a real problem both in terms of politics of the sport as well as within the matrix of cultural diversity. The north-easteners are stereotyped as a certain kind of attractive feminity and called upon as guests, lack of knowledge about the newer states such as Jharkhand, the collusion of all southerners as 'madrassis' with a common language are a few examples.

Its gladdening to witness a shift in the representation of women in mainstream cinema, howsoever with a pinch of salt. The over-riding theme/issue of women's liberation and choice of sport is too obviously done with the dismissive and disapproving families, arrogant and equally dismissive new-age cricketer boyfriend, official prejudice and stereotype of the domestic woman. The female characters are not psychologised, and are presented through selective sketches. The high point of the film, nevertheless, is the emphasis on team building, and the organisation of a group of women as a potent force within the structures of society. Whether or not this film intervenes in either the status or representation of women in society or art, remains to be seen. But it will definitely offer a fresher breath to the declining status of hockey in general, and women's hockey in particular.

All in all, the film is worth a watch. Chak le!