‘Chak
De
India
Is
Patriotic
Without
Being
Jingoist'
"The
film
is
patriotic
without
being
jingoist,
it
is
cool
without
being
frivolous,
it
is
intense
but
not
boring," SRK
told
PTI.
Chak
De!
India
regarded
as
one
of
Indian
cinema's
most
successful
and
loved
sports
films,
was
released
on
August
10,
2007.
The
Makers
Waited
For
More
Than
A
Year
For
SRK
SRK
says
he
did
the
film,
which
he
describes
as
one
of
the
most
special
in
his
career,
for
his
father.
"Shimit
made
it
beautifully
and
I
am
glad
that
Adi
(producer
Aditya
Chopra)
thought
of
me
as
Kabir
Khan.
They
waited
for
me
for
more
than
a
year.
The
heart
and
the
soul
of
the
film
are
the
young
girls."
Many
Thought
SRK
Won’t
Be
Able
To
Pull
Of
Kabir’s
Character
Due
to
his
romantic
hero
persona,
many
thought
he
would
not
be
able
to
pull
off
Kabir
Khan's
character,
says
Shah
Rukh.
"It
is
one
of
the
few
films
of
mine
which
opened
very
poorly.
I
was
really
disturbed.
My
father
used
to
play
hockey.
The
only
reason
I
did
this
film
was
because
I
could
use
something
that
my
father
had
taught
me.
I
was
emotionally
attached
with
the
film.
But
it
did
really
well
after
opening
poorly."
Later,
Chak
De!
India’s
Poor
Opening
Left
Him
All
Upset
He
was
so
nervous
about
the
film's
future
that
he
left
for
London.
"It
was
a
lovely
film
and
I
did
not
want
to
hear
all
that
(negativity)."
Shimit
says
the
team
approached
the
story
with
idealism.
"We
felt
it
was
a
special
film
and
something
that
would
be
made
on
its
own.
We
believed
in
the
idealism
of
what
we
were
doing.
We
had
this
amazing
sense
that
we
were
going
to
make
the
best
film
that
we
could.
There
was
no
calculation
involved."
But,
Later,
The
Film
Was
Successful
The
director,
who
went
on
to
make
"Rocket
Singh",
says
"Chak
De!"
did
not
impress
viewers
in
a
test
screening.
They
realised
they
had
a
successful
film
only
after
its
release.
Why
SRK
Looked
Apt
For
The
Film
Despite
Being
A
Romantic
Hero?
Asked
why
they
picked
Shahrukh
for
a
role
that
involved
no
romance,
the
director
says
they
wanted
someone
with
a
certain
kind
of
grace
and
dignity.
"Shahrukh
had
that
presence.
He
had
that
maturity.
He
also
came
from
a
middle
class
background.
There
were
a
lot
of
things
that
felt
right
about
him.
Adi
pitched
the
film
to
SRK
and
he
told
us
that
it
sounded
very
interesting
to
him."
Shimit’s
Fav
Moment
From
The
Film
Amongst
Shimit's
favourite
moments
from
the
film
is
Kabir
Khan's
"Yeh
sattar
minute"
monologue.
"This
was
a
sports
film
and
we
needed
a
motivational
speech.
It
was
exciting
to
see
SRK
act
that
part.
He
really
killed
it."
There’s
One
More..
Another
favourite
scene
is
Kabir
Khan's
reaction
when
the
team
actually
wins
-
there
are
no
tears,
no
hugs
just
a
deep
sigh
as
he
turns
away
from
the
euphoria
on
the
field.
Here’s
Why
The
Film
Didn’t
Have
A
Conventional
Ending..
The
director
says
he
is
glad
that
they
did
not
opt
for
a
conventional
ending.
"When
you
come
to
think
of
it,
this
is
not
a
very
'filmy' moment.
We
had
seen
a
Japanese
coach
react
like
that
during
Olympics.
The
idea
behind
the
scene
was
that
this
person
has
given
so
much
of
himself
that
he
no
longer
knows
how
to
react.
Shimit
Describes
The
Last
Scene
Of
Chak
De!
India
"He
had
held
himself
together
for
this
particular
moment
and
then
he
just
does
not
know.
There
is
a
separation
that
starts
for
him
right
at
that
moment.
He
realises
that
he
is
no
longer
a
part
of
this
game
and
has
done
his
bit
and
it
is
now
over
For
Writer
Jaideep,
The
Story
Is
A
"Piece
Of
His
Heart" He
Shared
With
The
World
"As
a
writer
I
feel
like
'Chak
De!'
is
a
piece
of
my
heart
which
now
belongs
to
everybody.
There
were
things
that
we
felt
very
emotional
about
and
we
wanted
to
say
those
things
with
the
film," says
the
man
who
also
wrote
"Khosla
Ka
Ghosla"
and
"Company".