Climax over, let the sequel begin

UMPIRE'S POST

Success makes money, so players of low-priority sports like football and women's hockey earn much less than their cricketing counterparts.

Chak De! India is a very courageous film. Its central theme is that most ignored of all ignored sports, women's hockey. Protagonist Shahrukh Khan, who after committing a spate of screen murders early on in his career became everyone's favourite lover boy, does not have a female romantic lead against him.

The film manages to capture succinctly how official cynicism and apathy can peg back a game. Yet, Shahrukh does not revolutionise the system like Amitabh's Vijay would have done 30 years ago. Kabir Khan merely slips through it as there is no other contender for the post of the national team's coach.

The film works because it is so believable. It shows how a team can triumph through hard work (the women begin the day with a 10-km run) and by playing as a unit, which is achieved partly by cutting prima donnas down to size and partly by eliminating internal disparities.

There is also, obliquely, a rationale provided for the apathy of officials and others. The team never wins anything. Presumably, if the women's hockey team was in the winning habit, things would have been better for it. The circumstances do change dramatically after the victory at the climax.

What if the climax, the world cup win, had happened at the beginning of the film? One can safely assume that things would have been a lot better for the team, as they would be if there is a sequel to Chak De!.

In winning the Nehru Cup, the national football team has defied five decades of losing history. Curiously, the footballers are not paid any match fee. They would split among themselves the prize money, which will work out to just above Rs 1 lakh for each player for winning the tournament by registering four wins in five matches.

To put things in perspective, the members of the cricket team received Rs 1.6 lakh as fee just for turning up for Thursday's one-day international against England at Old Trafford, which they proceeded to lose from a very strong position. Throw in the Rs 1 crore bonus for winning the Test series, Rs 2.5 lakh fee for each of the three Tests and the Rs 3 lakh tour allowance.

That will make every cricketer richer by nearly Rs 16 lakh for making the trip to England. This is in addition to the retainership money that they get under the contract with the board, which at the highest level can touch Rs 50 lakh.

Money apart, the All India Football Federation has not exactly covered itself in glory in handling the team. With Thursday's victory in football, the climax has been played out. Can the sequel begin?