Know Thysel s S ul

Youarea soulofapermanent unchangeable nature, andif you wouldlive as a soul,you would never be affectedor changed byouter changes.

-SantBaffitSingh fo fL.�ne1 nfo -nation

Nurture your spiritual life through meditation on the inner Light Uyoti) and Sound (Naad) and realise your true self. All events are free.

1800 462193 www.knowthyself.org his daughters' destinyto a glory denied to a lot of women in this country. ls this his best performance? Can't say whatever hehasdone earlier pales into insignificance.

Significantly, Dangal doesn't play the feminist card at all. There are no speeches tirades and pushy homilies on feminism. The men in fact are not shown to be excessively sexist for the sake of aggrandisingthe dramatic impact of girls' ultimatevictory. While Aamir plays the epitome of gender equality, Aparshakti Khurrana who plays Geeta and Babita Phogat's goofykind-hearted cousin is a feministeven without knowing what the word means.

No one in the cast and crew - not even the eternal attention-seeker Aamir Khan and not Sethu Sriram's cinematography - seeks attention here. Not even when fightingso ferociously in the wrestling akhaada. These people do what they have to. They fight inner andouter adversaries because - well,they are there and they must be fought.

Danga/neatly and nimbly avoids all classifications and isms and emerges as one of the strongest cinematic statements on women's empowerment in recent times. The performances go alongway in imbuing a sense of unrehearsed classicism to the simple tale of a simple father who lives out his sporting dreams through his daughters.

As simple as that.

And such doughty daughters! The two sets of actresses who play the younger and older versions of Geeta and Babita Phogat are so liberating in their spontaneitythat they at some point, cease to draw attentionto their skills at character assumption andsimply invite us to follow the girls' journey to victory.

While theyoungerPhogat daughter Babita,played ably by Suhani Bhatnagar and Sanya Malhotra, does have her say in the expansive script,this is clearly the other elder daughter Geeta s story, her blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with herfather and herultimatetriumphin the wrestling ring. Aamir andZarina Wasim/Fatima Sana Shaikh (thetwo girls who play Geeta) play against each other withvivacious credibility. While we watch Geeta wrestle her way to the gold medal - and shefights her opponentsin the wrestling ring like a true pro - we also watch Geeta and her father wrestle in ways that are not manifested physically.

Geeta's change as she becomes famous is mapped with no judgmental regret. This is not a film that wastes time trying to slotjudge or condemn human failings. It breathes with the characters andletsthem exhale at their own will. That is the real beauty of Dangal. It is what it is not because it tries to be great. but because the story it has to tell is effortlessly ensconced in excellence.

Director Nitish Tiwari simply plucks the fruits of a tree whose roots go deep into our culture penetratingsocietal biases towards the girl child,with a cluck of the tongue that is barely audible.

The climactic wrestling bout shot with adrenaline-pumping immediacy could have avoided reducing Geeta's coachto aschemingvillain. Neither thefilmnor Aamir's timeless portrayal of Mahavir Phogat neededto be propped up and peppered with scriptural spice.

Dangalhasno patience withjudgement values.It is so precious andso valuable because itlets us look athome-truthswith wisdom ratherthancunning.Thisfilm will be remembered by posterity as one of the landmarks of Indian cinema,not because it tries to be one.

Thank you Geeta Phogat, Nitesh Tiwari, AamirKhan.India is proud of you.

Phogat's sake, Dangalmust be watched.

Subhash K.Jha

Kenyan ofSouthAsian background?

_ esea c studv see·s

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