The Endearing If Overly Familiar Dangal Lacks Depth But Carries Its Fair Share Of Cheer-Worthy Moments

I'm personally woefully ignorant when it comes to Indian-originated cinema, so the chance to see Dangal (which looks to be well on its way to becoming the biggest Indian-based film ever at the U.S. box office) was a great chance to step out of my comfort zone and become more acquainted with one of the largest film industries on the planet. Doing some brief research before seeing Dangal, I was curious to discover the existence of Aamir Khan, an actor whose one of the most prolific actors in his home country and sets box office records left and right with each new movie he headlines. Discovering him and his career even just by way of looking at his IMDB filmography was fun and I'm curious to delve into his earlier work as well as plenty of other noteworthy slices of Indian cinema in the near future.

But for now, we have Dangal, a film that very much is keeping in step with the inspirational sports movie that have found plenty of artistic and financial success in countries around the world. For Dangal, the true story it chooses to tell is that of Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan), a former wrestler who could not make financial ends meet in the profession of wrestling so he gave up on those ambitions in hopes that a potential son of his could fulfill his wrestling dreams. To his initial dismay, he instead has four daughters, and since wrestling is thought of as a male-only competition in this country, he thinks his dreams have been dashed away.

And then he discovers that his two oldest daughters, Geeta and Babita, have beaten up two bullies in their village, displaying a knack for fighting that just might make them good at wrestling after all. From there,  Mahavir gets his daughters up at the crack of dawn every day for incredibly taxing exercise routines, much to the chagrin of the other citizens in the area, who find the idea of training young girls to be wrestlers to be a poor idea. Dangal thrives on the idea of subverting society reinforced gender roles in its story and the prospect of how much Geeta and Babita could mean for women in India if they become victorious wrestlers.

That's an idea that's really fascinating and adds a tangible underdog & inspirational element to the true life story and placing such an emphasis on it helps compensate for the fact that it is definitely a dude (Mahavir) at the center of the story. Anywho though, exploring that dramatically rich concept of gender roles and how subverting those ties into Geeta and Babita's training helps lend a unique identity to Dangal that keeps it quite engaging, especially in its first half that's heavily populated by montages that are accompanied by some memorable pieces of music. The tale is split into two halves by way of an intermission (I had no clue there was an intermission on this title so that was a definite surprise) and it must be said that the first half is probably more overall successful than its second half.

The second half is kicked off by Geeta going off on her own as an independent human being to train with someone that isn't her father. Here, the story falters by not exactly going as in-depth into the character of Geeta as it could have been, going for more surface-level and overly simplified explorations of Geeta when this formative period of her life feels like it should have more consequence on both the plot and character than just leaving her with the moral of "Father knows best" when her exploits trying to separate herself from her father are all said and done. Similarly, some of the wrestling matches in this half of the movie tend to feel visually repetitive in the way they're shot and edited which sends Dangal's pacing lagging.

All of that having been said, Dangal still remains a plenty pleasant sports adventure with its heart in the right place and a knack for getting one invested in the fights despite the more limited visual approach taken to some of the wrestling scenes. Just try not to be gleeful at the intense final match Geeta participates in! Much of this successful emotional investment on the audiences part rests on the shoulders of Aamir Khan, a guy who does strong work showing dedication to his craft and love for his daughters, so much so that he makes the premise of "father livings vicariously through is children" plotline endearing rather than the eye-rolling story it could have been. Dangal isn't a substantive inspirational sports movie, but it is an agreeable one whose unique attributes (like the good music and emphasis on subverting gender roles) help compensate for its weaker facets.