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This article is a continuation and thus is the third part of the analysis of patriotism in the film Chak De! India. To read the first part click here and to read the second part, one could click here.
Signifiers and Signified
The contention is set in a stadium brimming with individuals, the spectators, however nameless and faceless in a mass, signifies a nation which is waiting and watching. The country is relying on the patriot to deliver the goods.
Having a Pakistani team as a rival is significant, as it signifies the foe of the team and the state. Matches between India and Pakistan in any sport, particularly cricket and hockey are not just about the game but about crushing a sworn enemy.
The film plays on this sentiment in the opening sequence whereby the media is easily able to mark Kabir Khan as a backstabber with no investigation concerning the issue. The scooter is an important signifier which is used at least twice in the film. It signifies the middle class which is the humble roots of Kabir Khan.
In being middle class, Kabir Khan is identifiable with any middle class man. He is therefore as real as any of us. The flags of both India and Pakistan are deliberately placed in the opening sequence.
The journalist catches the captains of the two sides shaking hands just when another person is running with the Pakistani flag. This forms a befitting background for a picture which is manipulated by the media.
The handshake with the captain of the opposite side is also a symbol of his conspiracy to fix the match and the completion of that goal. An action which was meant to be a symbol of sportsmanship rather turns into a symbol of betrayal.
The Indian flag is seen atop the stadium. In a scene right after the defeat at the hands of Australia, Kabir Khan in an introspective mood looks at a white man hoisting the Indian flag. Here the flag is the symbol of a nation which is free of all bounds of colonialism.
The tables have turned; the colonizer now is hoisting the flag of an erstwhile colony. The India Gate helps identify that the story is set in Delhi as well as it is utilized to signify the nation.
India Gate is a symbol of the state which houses its centers of power in the capital that is Delhi, therefore there can be no better way to symbolize the nation, its cultural diversity notwithstanding. The other signifier which is utilized more than once in the film is the utilization of the word team.
Kabir Khan makes it obvious to each player gathered for the national camp in Delhi that for him it is team 'India' that is significant and his players should first play for the country, then for their teammates and after that in the event that they have any vitality left for themselves.
Essentially the country is most important, over the individual, her family and companions. No ties are more important than the ties that bind one to her nation. He does not let his players forget that throughout the film.
Kabir Khan is a troubled man when he becomes the coach because the burden of being called a traitor lies heavy on his heart and soul. It can be taken as a symbol as here one individual is fighting for redemption for an entire community.
After all, the film maker chose to make the protagonist a Muslim, despite the fact that Mir Ranjan Negi, the inspiration for the film’s story is a Hindu. The song 'Maula Mere' is significant as it alludes to the green color in the flag. It is the third color and is famously related with the Muslim community.
The song shows up in the film at points of desperation and defeat. First of all when Kabir is driving away from his home, and then at the point when the team rebels against him and his cruel training methods. Again for the third time, when the team loses its first match in the championship.
It is played for the fourth time when Kabir Khan is alone in the rain, and then when he watches a white man lift the Indian flag and lastly after the last triumph over Australia to win the title.
The song is an intrigue by the hero to gain proficiency with the purpose behind the unfriendly treatment dispensed to him by the country that he has served. It is a metaphor for the disgrace and embarrassment that Kabir Khan has endured. In conclusion, Kabir Khan turns out as the ‘genuine patriot’ in the film.
Being the focal character of the film, Kabir Khan and different entities such as the state and the team are created in the movie as opposing one another. The paradox is that despite the fact that they are pitched against one another, the ultimate aim of the hero is to become one with the nation.
It uses India Gate and the tricolor to emphasize the presence and significance of the nation state and its omnipresence. The scene where the players come in for enlistment is significant. The players from the north eastern states are named as visitors by the caretaker, Shukla ji.
This frame of mind is demonstrative of the mind of a layman, for whom the north east is a different place, separate from the remaining country. Shukla ji is illustrative of the Hindi talking individuals for whom the country is the Hindi heartland.
The girls answer back and ask him how he would feel in the event that he was called a guest in his very own nation.
Conclusion
On the outset, it seems that the movie is about Hockey, team-spirit, position of women in sports and the struggle of a man to avenge his honour, however if we read deep into the movie, we would understand that the movie builds the image of a ‘Patriot’.
The patriot takes it upon himself to build up the nation by infusing a nationalist spirit. This has been done through a sports team in the movie. The team in the movie is ‘infected’ with regionalism.
Hence, an issue that the country faces in contemporary times is taken up by a 'true patriot' who by the end isn't just able to tackle the issue, yet additionally recovers his respect and honour in the procedure.
Written by - Kshitij Kumar Ojha
Edited by - Daity Talukdar
The song shows up in the film at points of desperation and defeat. First of all when Kabir is driving away from his home, and then at the point when the team rebels against him and his cruel training methods. Again for the third time, when the team loses its first match in the championship.
It is played for the fourth time when Kabir Khan is alone in the rain, and then when he watches a white man lift the Indian flag and lastly after the last triumph over Australia to win the title.
The song is an intrigue by the hero to gain proficiency with the purpose behind the unfriendly treatment dispensed to him by the country that he has served. It is a metaphor for the disgrace and embarrassment that Kabir Khan has endured. In conclusion, Kabir Khan turns out as the ‘genuine patriot’ in the film.
Being the focal character of the film, Kabir Khan and different entities such as the state and the team are created in the movie as opposing one another. The paradox is that despite the fact that they are pitched against one another, the ultimate aim of the hero is to become one with the nation.
It uses India Gate and the tricolor to emphasize the presence and significance of the nation state and its omnipresence. The scene where the players come in for enlistment is significant. The players from the north eastern states are named as visitors by the caretaker, Shukla ji.
This frame of mind is demonstrative of the mind of a layman, for whom the north east is a different place, separate from the remaining country. Shukla ji is illustrative of the Hindi talking individuals for whom the country is the Hindi heartland.
The girls answer back and ask him how he would feel in the event that he was called a guest in his very own nation.
Conclusion
On the outset, it seems that the movie is about Hockey, team-spirit, position of women in sports and the struggle of a man to avenge his honour, however if we read deep into the movie, we would understand that the movie builds the image of a ‘Patriot’.
The patriot takes it upon himself to build up the nation by infusing a nationalist spirit. This has been done through a sports team in the movie. The team in the movie is ‘infected’ with regionalism.
Hence, an issue that the country faces in contemporary times is taken up by a 'true patriot' who by the end isn't just able to tackle the issue, yet additionally recovers his respect and honour in the procedure.
Written by - Kshitij Kumar Ojha
Edited by - Daity Talukdar
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