Sometimes Winning is Everything

Don't let the title of the post prejudice you.That's the tag line for one of the better movies that I have seen coming out of the Indian film industry in the recent past.

Chak De! India demolishes a lot of the original Bollywood formula.

• There is no heroine for one thing and no villain for another.
  
• The songs are not sung by the actors, but run in the background as thematic music.
• The story has no violence whatsoever and no heart-rending sentimental drama
• The characters don't mouth platitudes and they don't put on a pretty show for the audience

If you are a parent,a teacher, a student, a homemaker, a social worker or just a part of society's fabric, then you must watch this movie.

Why?

• The story:While many have labelled the movie's story as a take-off from the Kurt Russell starrer,Miracle, Chak de has many fatures that Miracle did not. The basic premise may be the same- that of an ex-hockey player who returns to coach a team for an international tournament. But the theme has been fine-tuned to the Indian scenario. For one, the team is the Women's team.For another, the divisions and arguments within the team are all flavoured with an original touch. The inhibitions that the Indian woman faces even in today's forward-thinking society, are displayed with courage and the director does not flinch from telling us that we need to move forward.

• Shah Rukh Khan: Quite frankly, the best performance of Shahrukh khan in his career, comparable only to his equally moving performance in Ashutosh Gowariker's Swades

• The music: Quite outstanding! Very hummable tunes and fine-tuned to the sports-loving and celebration- loving Indian public

So, if you haven't sneaked a peek at this movie, it's worthwhile renting the DVD.

How would you live your last years?

Well-made movies can send out multiple messages simultaneously.

Which would you rather be? The one who knows when he is going to die or the one who lives everyday not knowing around which corner Fate waits to deal the last card?

Take The Bucket List, for instance. Here you have two old men, who are in the last stages of their lives, wanting to live their dreams before they 'kick the bucket'. Until I saw this movie, I was unable to confidently assert which one I would be. Now I know that I would rather not know.

As Carter (Morgan Freeman) puts it: You measure yourself by the people who measure themselves by you.

The two men set out to achieve their dreams before the sun sets on their lives. How they go about it makes up the rest of the film. What sets the film apart are the performances of two of Hollywood's finest actors( but obviously!) and the humorous yet poignant portrayal of the inevitability of that final curtain call.

Nothing you do in this lifetime would make any sense if it weren't for the way you touch people's worlds and are touched in return.

It is easy to love people who love you back.The challenge lies in loving those who either can't or won't make it easy to be loved. For they are the ones who need it more.

Ultimately how you live your last years will depend on how you have lived the earlier ones.