Film: Chakde! India

Apart from the lack of a leading lady and respective love story, this is standard Yash Raj tugging-on-heartstrings fare.

Chakde! (or Chak De! in other places) is also a typical underdog tale. Here, the main protagonists are the Indian Women's Hockey Team, a bunch of misfits from all over the country supported by no one but themselves and their controversial coach, Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan).

I won't bother going on, because the rest is pretty much predictable. The plot is seriously undeveloped here, enough to spoil the story being told too. The characters don't help much either, none managing to portray complexity or presence; I'd be surprised if any of the actors broke a sweat doing their job in this film.

Still, what Chakde! lacks in depth it makes up in downright emotion. I'm ashamed to say that my heart was in my throat for most of it, being lulled in by even the most obvious feel-good tricks. For this alone, the film gets top marks.

Production-wise, the film was built well. Editing was above par, and the direction showed just how close to Hollywood Bollywood is now. The lack of a soundtrack took nothing away from the experience either.

One of the better Bolly flicks I've seen in the past few months, I'd think I'd have to reluctantly recommend it. If you like obvious feel-good films, you'll love this.