For the love of the game - CHAK DE INDIA

I am a big time movie buff and I have always enjoyed movies on sports or games. When I watch ed wonderful movies like "Remember the Titans", "Coach Carter", "The Mighty Ducks", "Rocky", "Million Dollar Baby", "Seabiscuit"; I used to wonder that why can't we make such movies in Hindi?

Recently "Lagaan" and "Iqbal" wandered in this area but no one seemed to be interested in it more. Moreover, both the games were based on cricket, the only game where we have some respectable stand. And just then someone dares to come up with a movie on hockey! Women's hockey!! (Hockey is our national sport is a detail remembered only in GK quizzes.)

Chak De is a wonderful movie with some similarities to the story of Ex-Indian goal keeper Meer Ranjan Negi. After conceding 7 goals to Pakistan Negi faced a lot of public humiliation and was made to leave Professional Hockey. He returned as a defense coach to Indian women's hockey team which won 2002 commonwealth games.

I believe we have more than enough stories to tell even in Sports arena. There are wonderful games and legendary heroes who need to be remembered and immortalized in the memory of public.

For Example -
Legends
Dhyaanchand, Gavaskar, Kapil Dev(Lot of drama to go along in his life), Paes and Bhupati, Dinco Singh (Now who is he?), Darasingh, P T Usha, Richard James Allen (Hockey Goal Keeper - Conceded only 3 goals in 3 Hockey Olympics) etc.

Events
- India won three consecutive Olympic Golds for hockey - 1928, 1932, 1936
- Olympic Final 1948 - when Independent India faced their past rulers England for the first time in Olympic hockey games. Britain confident of winning the game. India wins the match 4-0.
- India won 8 Olympics gold in all. 6 of them consecutively between 1928 - 1956. These 6 olympics, India played 24 matches, won all of them, scored 178 goals (avg. = 7.43 goals/match) and conceded only 7 goals.
- India's rise in 1983 Cricket world-cup starting from oh-we-had-it game with Zimbabwe to the I-don't-believe-it final against almost invincible West Indies team of Clive Loyd.

These films might not make players out of sloths like me but they might give a boost to a lot of young players who are disillusioned about our record in games and sports in general.

We desperately need heroes (the ones are not interested only in endorsing soaps and toothpastes but also love the game they play) in sports and these might be the ones.