Chak De India is unusual. It's not just the script or the unlikely role of SRK as a hockey player playing for his honour off the field. It is not the fact that 16 unknown girls starred in a movie of such magnitude or the rather low key sport of hockey. It is the passion shown in the movie - by the entire crew working on this movie. What I found especially moving was the spirit shown by the actresses - the preparation they undertook so that when the time came to act opposite an actor like SRK, they would pass the mark. The passion of the story writer who turned a small clipping in a newspaper from five years ago into a living, breathing portrayal of women's hockey in India. The indifference of national selectors towards a hockey team - that too a women's team - was well shown. Among the more touching scenes are the ones where after defeating the women's team in a tight match, the men's team raise their hockey sticks in honour of 16 brave girls who dared to hope, dared to dream and dared to play for India against all the obstacles posed by their own families and others. When the girls raise their hockey sticks too in a silent salute, one is struck by how the game comes before their gender to them - how their country comes before the game to all. When I was watching the making of the movie clips, one clip showed Dhanraj Pillay coaching the actresses about hockey - what he said touched me. He said - 'You can wake me up in my sleep - and I will come immediately to help anyway I can these girls. I will do anything for hockey.' Talk about being passionate for something!
Another series which I found very interesting and passionate was the Japanese series Engine starring Kimura Takuya. The basic storyline is about a racer, Jiro, who has big dreams of making it to F1. Unfortunately, he's too old (a racer is considered to be in his prime in his 20's) and he loses his existing contract in Rome when he busts his car. He goes back to Japan and tries to join his old team - Team Ichinose. His coach tells him that they already have a younger driver - who is faster and younger. Jiro decides to stay with his adopted family till he can get a job as a racer again. He goes back home to only find that his home is now a refuge for several children - children who have lost their parents or have been left on Encho (his Dad's hands) because their parents are not able to make time for him. The only rue in the home is that everyone has dinner together. The children find Jiro a mystery - he is more of a child than an adult and is not bothered a bit by what goes on in their lives. As Encho puts it to a worried Genni (one of the caretakers apart from the pretty teacher, Tomomi Sensei and the cook), Jiro has absolutely no special child handling skills whatever unlike the trained caretakers.
As the 12 hour drama unfolds, we get a peek into each of the children's worlds, their hopes, their tears and how Jiro lands up with brilliant solutions to each of their problems in hilarious and unconventional ways earning their respect and trust along the way. It's not a one-way thing though. Jiro, in turn, is inspired by the children and decides to hold on to his dream of standing in the winner's podium some day despite all odds. The story takes a turn when a series of mishaps occur and Echo is forced to close down Kaze no Oka home. What happens next forms the thrilling end to the drama. Believe me, this is one drama that does not disappoint!
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