Dangal is a good sporting film and a family film that fits, and often a steady sports drama is built from a successful mix of both elements. "Dangal" in Indian means "wrestler", and the wrestling sequence in Dangal is well made. His drama, which is about the family especially the affection between father and son, is pretty basic but so relatable, I often associate it with personal life.
In terms of crafting the scene, the sequence of action in the wrestling arena by the players was so convincing that I almost came to believe that Zaira Wasim, Suhani Bhatnagar, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra and several others were real athletes. If not, surely they undergo seintens training done by real athletes. We can see when they're wrestling, uhm, they're really wrestling, not with angle games or editing moves.
This film is made from the true story of Mahavir Singh Phogat who managed to print two girls, Geeta and Babita became professional wrestlers international class. Before the movie begins, the initial text states that "certain events that occur are fictionalized and dramatized for the needs of the film". True, this means Dangal does not claim that he is an accurate biopic, so we can tolerate his formidable story or some antagonized characters as the plot demands. I'm not sure that in the climax game at the Commonwealth Games 2010, Mahavir is really locked in the warehouse until he can not watch his son compete.
Mahavir was played by Aamir Khan, who got a chance to perform with athlete-ready physicality and fresh face in the early few minutes, then turned to be stocky and grayed in most duration. Although coming from a small village, Mahavir won the national wrestling championship. But his dream of reaching gold stalled because of the economic pressures that required him to seek "real work". Without financial support from the government, Mahavir was forced to bury his dream.
Mahavir hopes his children will be able to continue the dream. But it turns out that was born is a girl. So was the second, third, and fourth child, until finally Mahavir stopped trying ... at least until his two eldest children beat up two of their classmates who were boys. Well you know, who knows Geeta (Wasim) and Babita (Bhatnagar) can grab the gold that had been coveted?
So Mahavir told them to ignore the homework, ask the wife to understand and start training them both with a strenuous exercise menu and strict food menu. The people in the village questioned his sanity, but Mahavir was not nervous about building a sand wrestling arena in the fields, shaving his head to pitting his two girls to wrestle with the village wrestling athlete. From one village to another, Geeta and Babita both won and won the hearts of people who no longer looked down upon them.
The film is not only about the family, but also brings messages about feminism. Dangal presents a portrait of the life of a female athlete who developed in the sexist days in India. Women are assumed to work as housewives, to give birth to children and to care for husbands and families, not to be athletes. So it's not just about how Geeta and Babita are underestimated, but also how they receive misogynist comments that tend to harass at the beginning.
At the beginning, I was a little uncomfortable with Mahavir who was portrayed as a selfish father who was willing to do anything, including "torturing" his son to achieve his dream. He can not get it himself, so it uses Geeta and Babita to be successors, regardless of whether they want to or not. But Dangal gives the pengafhuman through the moment when Geeta and Babita steal time to attend their cousin's wedding. "At least you have a father who allows you to achieve something, not just raising and then marry off at a young age to quickly eliminate the 'burden'", said the cousin.
After the intermission, the story moves to the National Sports Agency of India because now Geeta (Sana Shaikh) has become a national athlete. This makes him far from his father, literally and figuratively. The coach wants Geeta to forget the ancient training of Mahavir. There is a bit of anticipatory tension when Babita (Malhotra) tells Geeta firmly that she will become a national athlete through the way his father taught, the path that has so far led Geeta to where he is now.
Dangal is a movie crowdpleaser and I enjoy most of its duration. The film follows exactly the formula from most sports movies. If you've ever watched a sports drama, the peak moment is something that is predictable. But I am still made enthusiastically with convincing acting, well-made game sequences, and enthusiastic scoring in the background. There is a satisfying emotional game that makes me tense and touched in the end. Manipulative indeed, but I manipulated successfully.