King Khan is back.. and he rules my heart still...

Chak De India! Chak De India! Chak De India!

A brilliant film to turn the Khan's image yet again from his usual romantic hero character of Rahul to Kajol's Anjali, into the fine character actor that he really is.. and I sit wondering how the Indian public will take him in this role! I mean there is absolutely no romance. No dancing (shock and horror). No flashbacks. Only the most brilliant story telling by the YashRaj crew, yet again. A play on one united nation (India) versus all the various states the hockey players hail from. A play on how hockey is as respectable a game as cricket. That women can play, and should play, and should be supported to play.

All the nuances of being a woman and how women stand in an Indian society is explored through the core thread of Coach Kabir shaping these 16 girls into a team to take on the World Cup title. Themes that are very reminiscent of where women really stand, that one can still draw these parallels to many societies outside of India - demanding boyfriends, difficult husbands that all want "his woman" to sit at home and cook and clean, or at the very least not to have a more successful career than them. That one woman can really end up being the other one's worst enemy. That when sisters should be banding together to protect each other in a male dominated world, that they often let each other down.

Shahrukh Khan. Hmmm. Are you sitting down? Bearded, Ray-Bans, playing the Muslim coach - Kabir Khan. One that has been ousted by Indians everywhere. Branded a traitor for a simple acceptance of a helping hand off his knees, that turned into a handshake and then into a comforting hug by an opposing Pakistani hockey player, on the field of an India/Pakistan game, minutes after Pakistan beat India, and Kabir single-handedly lost that penalty goal. Ugly accusations of him being Pakistani under the skin, of him taking a bribe to fold on his penalty shot. 7 long years of solitude only to come back again, determined to break what it was that made his team lose in the first place, that allowed for his fellow countrymen, neighbors and friends alike to burn effigies of him, the great Indian Hockey Captain that allegedly folded to Pakistan.

Me, who has no desire or even a basic like for sports in any shape or form, watched breathlessly and anxiously, kneading my hands and pulling at my fingers as game after game mounted and the tactical aspects of making 16 girls come together to want to play cohesively with each other (versus "against") and "sirf" for India (not their individual states), and to beat everything from "man to man marking" to their own personal egos on the field, all unfolded in brilliant Yash Chopra style. My favorite scenes... and ooi there were so many... I think my first one was when Shahrukh resigned from coaching the ladies, and took them all to McD's for a farewell lunch. Only to sit back and let his team beat the shit out of the men that were harassing them. He stepped in only when he needed to cut this one man off (who was sneaking in from behind with a cricket bat to whack the ladies) and he looked on throughout with sheer pride as these completely individualistic women, when push came to shove, stepped up to be a team and ka-pow... they got each other's "back" (covered) big time.

Another fav scene... When the Indian men's team stood a little shocked and confused at the fact that the women almost beat them. In a game (the women's first) to prove that they did deserve to be sent out to represent India and that the politics of keeping some kick-backs and re-routing the sponsorship to only the men's team was unacceptable. So a realization all round that to simply drop the women's team was no longer as under-the-carpet as one committee deciding. And then when the men's coach clapped that very first clap. And the men hockey players raised their hockey sticks, one by one as a salute to the women. Total awe, respect and goodwill. When the girls realized slowly that they were worth something as a team, that people did take them seriously, and they raised their hockey sticks back, bemused. Brrrr... all my hair stood up on the back of my neck and I was left fumbling for my Kleenex. When they lost 7-Nil to Australia and the Australian coach laughed at Khan and asked him - how on earth did they even make it to the World Cup in the first place... I could go on. And on. Sigh. All the Wold Cup "games" were filmed at the Melbourne Hockey Stadium. And the girls met the teams from London, to Spain, to South Africa, to Argentina, to Korea. And then back to the Aussies all over again.

Needless to say, I would happily stay home, barefoot and pregnant for Mr. Khan. I am even thinking about naming my first son Kabir (not after any bloody cricket player.. but after the hockey coach that is Shahrukh). And now, back to the reality that our Malaysian athletes should sit up and think, we live this everyday! I mean forget the women in sports. Forget the Bollywood tugging at our heart strings. But don't lose the lesson. Any Malaysian athlete at the moment (less Nicol David - you go girl! you are making us proud!) gets the same reaction every time we lose 20-Nil. HOW DID WE GET TO THE GAME IN THE 1ST PLACE?? A high-school kiddies team in Ozland could beat us Malaysians probably... in any sport (except squash!)...

where or where is my SRK??!

Quiero algo para el mareo = I'd like something for travel sickness.

according to my older brother - TSB - my "Shahrukh Khan" sits in Kanaada (Canada for the illiterate).
hmmm... seems quite plausible actually, as Vancouver does house the largest Sikh population outside of the Punjab. and maybe even loads of Punjabi Hindus.

so, i am seriously going to put Mom + aunty Jas on this quest for my DH when they travel onwards for cousin Sunita's wedding in September. after all, what luck have I had finding my own Dear Husband all on my own. it is my karma to always be the "best friend" yar, and never the bride. and the number of times i have heard "i love you i really do do.. but i am not in love with you".. if i had taken just ONE USD every time, i would be pretty rich by now wei... muaahahhhahhaahaa.

okay so maybe not that rich, but seriously, the BEST green iguana vets sit in North America, and i will be closer to my mentor - Melissa Kaplan... what do you think? (light bulb moment! eureka!)

genius

claro = bright
(used in "slang" to punctuate a conversation meaning - "precisely" or "exactly" or "it's crystal clear"

and what is that really (genius)? that score on the MENSA assessment? the ability to write in French and paint like a Renaissance master? the ability to write your first piano symphony at 5?
hmmm, yes, that i can buy.

but what is "normal"? i personally hate that word - "normal" btw. it immediately denotes the insinuation of there being a NOT normal. of being out-of-the-box as a problem and i.e. as not normal. as being corny, or wacky, or strange, or (oh.oh.oh. this one) idiosyncratic as being not normal. labels and categories. they constrict and stereotype and make me always accept that i live on the fringes of "normalcy". i do. why? just...

• that i love tattoos, and crave "a" next one (no Mom, don't start panicking).
• that i love anything Spanish irrationally. Antonio baby, anytime, any day, Block A, 5-0-5...
• that i believe vampires exist (huh! so i said it on my Blog, out here in cyberspace. does that mean i will become the next RPK?)
• and i think the damn scientologists are barmy. aliens my ass! (eee.. how politically incorrect!)
• that i stop breathing every time Shahrukh Khan fills the silver screen. oh, and i cry every time he does (sometimes even before he does, when he is just starting to twitch that eye-brow of his! i am cair.)
• that i believe in omens. and definitely in dreams
• that i wear opal to "sense". and gold to "block"
• that i never touch someone even accidentally, unless i think you have a good aura
• that i completely supported every point Malik Imtiaz Sarwar made on Riz Khan last night over that buduh Tuan Haji (that was talking through his ass). YOU ROCK MIS!
• notice how i didn't add - that i live my life completely around my 4.5 foot green lizard - ahem. that i think is non-negotiable!