Dangal (2016) Review

Dangal is a family sports drama starring Aamir Khan as a retired wrestler who never realised his potential for greatness and so raises his daughters to become wrestlers.

Firstly, as a sports film, this is a very entertaining and worthwhile watch that packs a punch that you want from a sports movie. It is slick in the portrayal of the athletic aspect of the film, the fights look and feel real and authentic. The film uses the sports film formula but gives enough freshness to it so the film doesn’t feel overly derivative or like a film you’ve seen a thousand times before. The training montages feel like they have weight to them, and given the situation of it being young girls who are forced to train, the film depicts the situation in a way that feels respectful and truthful.

The family drama aspect of the film however isn’t as strong as the sports film side. It’s not awful and it doesn’t ruin the film or anything like that, in fact most of the actors have chemistry that feels like they are a real family. The issue comes more from the over-dramatisation in certain scenes, paired with the music used becoming overly melodramatic at times. It’s the direction in these scenes that makes them too melodramatic for me. It’s a shame because in other scenes, the family drama aspect can really shine and feel real and raw, but too many times in the film does the editing and direction veer into overly melodramatic territory.

The production value is high in a way that gives justice to the source material and the sport of wrestling. It helps when Disney is producing the film.

The cast is really good, especially Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh. Khan’s dedication to his role really pays off as prosthetics or CG wouldn’t have been as realistic as it actually was. His transformation from having muscles in the beginning to complete weight gain and gaining a belly is a testament to his commitment as an actor.

Overall, this is a sports film that while being good it isn’t great. It is still very enjoyable and entertaining, there is heart to it and it is a motivating and inspiring story, but the melodramatic tone throughout much of the film is a significant drawback for me. I’d recommend it to fans of sports films and of Aamir Khan.

Score: 6.4/10