Nupur Agrawal
First of all, looking at the way Hindi cinema is moving swiftly and powerfully towards movies ‘Based on a true story’, there should be a term coined for this category of movies. Although earnestly putting it, there still aren’t enough words to describe a movie like Dangal.
There are exactly four words that broadly describe how I felt during Dangal – Adrenaline rush and Flowing tears. To begin with, it made me think of my Dad who is a sports fanatic and was an athlete in his own right at one point and knows almost all sorts of sports that are there. As an 8 year old, I remember seeing that little hope in the corner of his heart that may be one of his girls might have his kind of passion and talent for sports but alas ! None of us showed the requisite symptoms and went on to walk on different paths altogether. However, the same does not happen with Mahavir Singh Phogat.
We all know that Dangal is the story of a man from a small village in Haryana whose fiery obsession and dream of achieving Gold for India at Wrestling in Olympics drives him to fight all the odds and clichés created by society and train his daughters to fulfil his enduring dream. Dangal is a biographical sports drama film, but it goes way beyond being just about wrestling. This impassioned masterpiece directed by Nitesh Tiwari is a tour de force in the history of cinema that comes with few imperative life lessons which remain unworded in the film but hit harder than a sword.
1. We all have our calling. Sometimes someone else hears it before us.
The two little village girls grow up learning exactly what every other village girl is taught– ‘Your place is in the kitchen’, only till the point when they do the honor of beating up two boys in a childish spat and their father suddenly sees that what he had been searching all his life, was there in front of his eyes all along.
2. There is no stronger teacher than a parent who knows what you’re worth and never stops believing in you.
From recognising their talent to quitting his job to give his daughters full time and attention, Mahavir Phogat doesn’t even for a second doubts the immense potential of his daughters.
3. Success knows no gender.
Because gold toh gold hai, ladka laaye ya ladki.
4. You can either be ordinary or awesome. You can’t be both.
Geeta & Babita keep looking for excuses to escape wrestling and live a normal life like any other kid around them, leading to them hating their father. But one fine day, their own friend makes them realise how any girl would be lucky to have a father like him and there was no looking back.
5. Forge ahead on the hard path of growth, but don’t let go of your core strength.
Geeta joins NSA, begins to break all rules taught by her father, but what causes her to lose in her own battlefield is the huge blunder of attempting to become someone else and drifting away from her own strength.
6. The grass is greener where we water it.
Once you get a glimpse of your brilliance and potential, it’s up to you to hone those skills and make them stronger.
7. Before you climb the next ladder of success, just remember how you got here in the first place.
When Geeta joins NSA and begins to enjoy the experience without too many restrictions, she begins to think that her father’s techniques are obsolete, forgetting that he is the one she owes her existence and success to.
8. There comes an age and stage when your parents’ thoughts seem to be obsolete, but eventually you will know how right they were.
9. In life, there will come times when no one will come to rescue you. You have to push hard and be your own hero.
Last but not the least. The controversial end of the movie when Mahavir is locked in a room just few minutes before Geeta’s final match begins. Sure the scene invited criticism from the real life coach of Geeta and it might not have been true, but the scene wasn’t just done to add drama and anxiety to the finale, but to empower every protégé and impart the most powerful lesson that if you got to win, there must be nothing coming in your way – not even your mentor himself.
