The shot of an overweight Aamir Khan riding a rickety two-wheeler through a ramshackle town, brings back memories of Salman Khan in “Sultan” all over again. But “Dangal” opens up a different realm of wrestling.
It is the story of a proud but kindhearted, gentle and guardedly liberal patriarch who, when the trailer opens, hopes his fourth-born would be a son whom he can nurture into a gold-medalist wrestler.
That’s the crux of this simple heart-warming story. The trailer strings together moments that bead a beautiful bouquet of unfulfilled dreams and fulfilled aspirations. It seems that Nitesh Tiwari directorial is not keen on creating complex gender dynamics through the film.
“Dangal” is the story of a retired, unsuccessful wrestler with four daughters — who decides to make his daughters do what is conventionally the male heir’s domain — fulfil the father’s unfinished dreams.
There is an interesting little scene in the trailer where the mother of two boys beaten black and blue comes to complain. The wrestler patriarch presumes it’s his nephew who thrashed the boys. But no, it’s the wrestler’s two daughters who quietly tell their dad they beat up the boys for calling the girls unflattering names.
This is a turning point in the script.
The trailer gives us an array of solid performers. The four girls playing the two wrestler-daughters at two different stages are amazing at their job. Sakshi Tanwar as Aamir’s wife is quietly expressive. But make no mistake this is again an Aamir Khan vehicle. He gets flabby for the first segment and sinewy and muscled for the second segment.
All of it, will add up to a complete family drama where the girl child will be given the chance to dazzle in the ‘akhaada’ (ring). This is what makes the trailer of “Dangal” special.
By Subhash K. Jha
