'Dil Chahta Hai' and 'Chak De! India': The tales of revived careers and restrained performances

Picture Courtesy: Mid-day Archives

For ages, Hindi cinema has celebrated and critiqued the Khan trinity - Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Salman Khan. There have been endless debates, discussions, fights and fallouts among fan clubs on social media about their respective contribution to the world of cinema, and about who's a bigger star and a better actor. Amid the chaos, there was another Khan, quietly making his own space and carving his own niche.

Even though this Khan started in 1992, attention began to pour on him from 2001 onward, when Farhan Akhtar came to his aid and revived an ailing career. His directorial debut, ‘Dil Chahta Hai', made the nation realise there was a fourth Khan all along, overpowered by fellow actors, mostly Akshay Kumar and Suniel Shetty. Of course, the name is Saif Ali Khan. In this defining film of Hindi cinema, Khan was tidier, more tenacious, and polished in his performance.

He played Sameer, one of the three friends in this drama about friendships and relationships. Between him and Aakash (played by Aamir Khan), it's hard to tell who was more naive when it came to love. Either they were unaware of the essence, or just unprepared to embrace someone completely. Both of them had flickering, fluctuating relationships, but the way Akhtar filmed their scenes, it seemed like Sameer was more unsuspecting. And ironically, he was the first one to fall in love.

Before this film happened, not too many had heard the term 'coming of age'. Not too many knew what it actually meant. Not too many saw or felt what character transformation looked like. That was the time of explosive action, hyperactive comedies, and high-pitched melodramas. ‘Dil Chahta Hai' had all three of them but all drastically toned down. In the name of action, it had a slap and a punch, both delivered to the same character.

In the name of comedy, it had engaging and endearing montages of all principal characters and their respective anecdotes. And in the name of drama, it had some tears but sans the histrionics. ‘Dil Chahta Hai' was truly ahead of its time, and Akhtar should feel proud he was able to make this film back in 2001 when nobody else imagined such a narrative. Today, when this particular style of filmmaking is on the brink of being overcrowded, Aakash, Siddharth, and Sameer's iconic friendship may have got blurred, even if shot in 3D.

There's another Khan fondly called as the King. In Shimit Amin's ‘Chak De! India', Khan played Kabir Khan, a disgraced hockey coach desperately seeking redemption after being falsely accused of match-fixing. A subject like this can easily go over the top, with monologues about India, its legacy, and patriotism. What would follow is a historic box office. Amin's cinema is devoid of all of this. Delivering his most remarkable and restrained performance after ‘Swades', Khan played a role that tilted more towards the character than the star.

Most of his celluloid characters have been the embodiment of what his real-life aura is, making women go weak in the knees with his magnetism. Here, there are 11 women, not to romance but to serve the country with their collective contribution. There's virtually no trace of SRK in this SRK film. He wears white shirts and brown pants, travels by scooter, sports stubble, and profusely perspires in one explosive scene. Yes, there are outdoor locales in ‘Chak De!', but they have been explored and exploited for training montages and matches.

There are songs too, one an anthem for fueling our fervour, the other filmed on the hockey team and their discovery to the outer world. The ‘70-min' speech's legacy is just as gigantic as Khan's other dialogues about ‘Bade Bade Desh' and ‘Naam Toh Suna Hoga', again two YRF films. ‘Chak De! India' is a fine example of how fruitful and fascinating the end result can be if a star and a branded production house go beyond formula. All one has to do is try. The goal will surely happen!

Also Read: People call Chak De! ahead of its times, says writer Jaideep Sahni