Chak De Disc 2

My dear friend in Australia, Mitu was kind enough to send me a DVD of Chak De through its director Shimit Amin. I met Shimit (a woody allenesque man). Got him to autograph a copy!

I was so excited to watch it that I bought an HDMI cable and linked the projector. My 5 year old son who has seen the movie twice jumped with joy at every goal India scored. We hugged like it was all happening infront of our eyes. I need to thank Shimit for the many hugs and innocent kisses I got because I could tell who would score next in the film!!

I then saw DISC 2 the extra's. DO NOT MISS THESE!! There are gems in the deleted scenes and many stories that never unfolded on the real screen. Like the taming of the dreaded 3 senior players, which makes the dahi chawal reference so much more significant! The Antakshari session, the Aliya Bose playing truant piece, Nethra meeting her dad the groundsman! But most of all what touched me was the Gul Iqbal story.

The famous parent tag which she has to get rid of!! With the Germany-India semi final. A thriller that ends with a penalty shot in the last 2 minutes of the game.

I messaged Shimit saying he needs to amke a directors cut, what he wanted. I don't know if he ever will. Please see the second disc. The interviews are fun but I can tell you the real thrill is in reliving the whole process of the two years it took to make the movie, the casting the rehearsals etc. WOW what inspiration.

Everyone has a movie inside. I have many stories but still wait for my movie to shake me up!! For my muse to whisper the narrative one night to me. To awaken charged with the unshakeable belief that I must do it NOW!!

All this business of the discs set me thinking. About our lives and Disc 1 that plays out each day for all to see, neatly edited. While Disc 2 stays hidden somewhere. With all our extra's. The fight you had at home in the morning, the barb someone made to you about success, the poem you learnt in class 1, the dirty song you used to sing in college, the one hidden road you know to nowhere in particular, the job you almost took, the rbonze medal you won.

Keep an eye on your own disc 2, share it with people sometime. They will know you better!