Know Thysel s S ul

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

fo fL.�ne1 nfo -nation

1800 462193 www.knowthyself.org

No one in the cast and crew - not even the eternal attention-seekerAamir 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. Theyfight 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 spontaneity that 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, playedably by Suhani Bhatnagar and Sanya Malhotra, does have her say

Geeta's change as she becomes famous is mapped with nojudgmental regret. This is not afilm that wastes time trying to slotjudge or condemn human failings. It breathes with the characters andletsthemexhale 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 thegirl 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 ascheming villain. Neither thefilmnor Aamir's timeless portrayal of Mahavir Phogat neededto be propped up and peppered with scriptural spice.

Dangal hasno patience withjudgement values.It is so precious andso valuable because itlets us look at home-truthswith wisdom ratherthancunning.Thisfilm will be remembered by posterity as one of the landmarks of Indiancinema,not because ittries to be one.

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

Phogat's sake, Dangal must be watched.

Subhash K.Jha

Kenyan ofSouthAsian background?

_ esea c studv see·s particip ts

AreyoufromKenya,EastAfrica? Didyouarriveonaskilledworkervisaorother category? WouldyoubewillingtoshareyourexperiencesinAustrnlia? Ifyouhave answeredyestothethreequestions,thenyouareinvitedtoparticipateinaresearch studythatexploresyomcareerexperiencesasaskilledmigrantandhowyoupursued yourcareergoalsinAustralia.

Participationisvoluntaryandinvolvesfacetofaceortelephoneinterviews. The interviewprocesswillbetotallyconfidentialandyouwillnotbeidentifiedinany wayinthefinaldocument.Ifyoudodecidetovolunteerandshareyourexperiences, pleasecontacttheprincipalresearcherKhalidaMalik,PhDcandidatefromWestern SydneyUniversity,011theemail9161730!@student.westemsydney.edu.auforfurther infonnation.

This.fllll(1 hasbeenapprr>1edbythe WesternSydney Unil'ersit_v. TheapprovalnumberisHI1832.