GOLD, an appreciation

GOLD, an appreciation

I would recommend everyone to watch this film. Not only is it flawless in all the parameters of a film, viz. screenplay, script, direction, acting, music direction, it is also very special in its content and presentation. The song scenes are measured and they kind of take us back to the historicity the film was trying to depict. 

Personally I connected with the film because it tells a different story of the two nations, unfortunately separated by design by the Brits, who took full advantage of the differences they had in terms of beliefs, viz. religion. It is different in that the story is about the popular game hockey which is at the epicenter of the film. India and Pakistan have spread enough of bad breath with stories full of hatred and anger ever since the separation; we have no dearth of them. Here’s a story that has most elegantly and affectionately recounted the togetherness these two countries had shared. Unfortunately such stories are not told, but they need to be told and retold. The ghastly and horrendous aspects of separation have been most effectively truncated from the film; quite rightly so, because I think now it is time to walk past those poignant incidents; we need more of such stories that can mend the relationship than end, that can unite the broken hearts, heal the wounds of mindless battles the two countries had witnessed since a long time. Did we really want to separate… more pertinent question is that did we gain from the separation… not for certain regions of the undivided India upon which the wheels of dissension severed the country into amputated parts. Bengal and the Punjab can hardly forget the perils of separation, just like certain parts of Europe can hardly forget the World wars. 

It was heartening to watch Indians, who became foreigners overnight as Indians and Pakistanis after 1947, supporting each other like long lost brothers, although they were playing as separate nations against the Europeans. However, the film also faithfully presented the divides we nursed among Indians, viz. North Indians, South Indians, East and West Indians way back in 1948, seventy years ago. Unfortunately the disconnects still exist, perhaps in much greater dimensions and it is precisely through these holes of dissensions that enter defeat and failures, be it a game or any project we take up as Indians.We can see similar display of intolerance in any organization, be it at the dining table or at the working table; people from the same regions stick together and constantly criticize other states. For a Tamil uses Bangali or a Gujarati as an abuse and vice versa. And the management does nothing to educate their workforce into thinking of the workforce primarily as employees of the organisation, then as Indians to ensure that the employees can connect easily and become more productive. The situation is very sad; so much so that if the HR (Human Resource) of every organization doesn’t pull up its socks now, then it might badly hit the businesses in the days to come. However, it was heartwarming to see how Samrat, played by Kunal Kapoor, would address Tapan Das, the protagonist, played by our dear Akshay Kumar as 'Bangali' in the most affectionate way as possible.

However, let me not deviate from the main topic, which is about the film GOLD. I think it is worth watching many times because, apart from sending an important message across, it has also entertained the audience with the vivid and the most enthralling indigenous sport that is Hockey. One could argue to view the film as a repetition of Chak de India, but it is not because of its difference in space and time, for it has talked about hockey that was very popular during the late thirties and lasted for quite a long time when India and Pakistan were considered the undisputed champions of the world, as jewels that could bring GOLD for their respective countries from the Olympics. The protagonist, who decided to build a team for Independent India in two years (in 1948), was disillusioned with the partition of India that he perhaps did not factor. The teams comprising Muslims and Anglo Indians had to leave the new India and go off to Pakistan and Australia respectively. This aspect made the film less filmy and more down-to-earth. However, with sheer resilience and support from his wife, other players, the Buddhist monastery providing space to practise, and the kind-hearted Parsi Mr Wadia, Tapan Das could finally form a world-class team.  

While the singers Daler Mehandi, Vishal Dadiani, Yasser Desai have done a wonderful job as singers, the actors including Akshay Kumar, Mouni Roy, Amit Sadh (wonderfully acted out the 'royal' snobbery that proved to be a bane for the team), Kunal Kapoor, Sunny Kaushal (Himmat was played incredibly well by this young man), Jatin Sarna did a remarkable job more as team players than as individual performers, their synergy in acting married the intent of the film well enough to take us back to those good old days we left behind, years ago...when the nation was one. My heartfelt gratitude goes to Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani as producers… wonderful effort to gift us a story that makes us think of the days when we fought for a common mission, for a common goal to free India from the foreign invaders ruling us for centuries.

I was moved to see how 'rain' played an important role in the film; I am not going to reveal everything... please go and watch...GOLD is one of the very few Hindi films you can watch with family. Finally, I heaved a sigh of relief to see that the film did not paint the Whites (the Brits) all black; they were shown with their characteristic sportsmanship when they started applauding for India, the defending champions; this is indeed possible for Brits; for a long time this was also common with the audience of Eden Gardens of Kolkata too.

The audience automatically stood up when the national anthem was sung and the tricolor fluttered in the air upon winning the most coveted GOLD by defeating the Brits in their own land! A film truly worth watching, a story that reaffirms the belief that old is GOLD.

Message to Farhan Akhtar
I am not a professional reviewer, I am sure this review lacks the finesse of a seasoned reviewer. This film appealed to me to the core, I had an instant connect with it; I am sure there are many like me who could also connect with the intent of the film. Thank you once again for financing such a beautiful film. Would urge you to continue screening similar stories hiding in every nook and corner of these three countries; stories that could help Bangladesh, Pakistan and India rediscover themselves in the light of friendship. We may never unite as one country, but we can certainly unite as the best of neighbors, “humlog milke nara to laga sakte Bangladesh Zindabad, Pakistan Zindabad, India Zindabad”.

Proposing an initiative to see us in the next FIFA
I wonder if this would reach out to you and your team, but I am sending my vibrations through this virtual space so that it reaches to people who matter. With your effort, I am sure the three countries can sit together and work out some strategies to take part in the next FIFA, the absence of the sub-continent, despite being die-hard football fans is really sad. I am sure Pakistan, Bangladesh and India have potential footballers like Messy, Naymar, MBappe. It would be an engaging effort, we have time of about four years; the brilliant and commendable effort by the Ambanis in Let’s football can be leveraged in the context. If we look harder, we can surely find talents like Tapan Das too; someone who can selflessly form robust teams for the three countries.