NEW DELHI: Cricket-crazy India is renewing its passion for field hockey through a new Bollywood blockbuster inspired by the true story of a fallen star who returns as a triumphant coach.

“Chak De! India” (Come on India!), featuring superstar Shahrukh Khan, is playing to packed houses since its release last week as people rediscover the joy of what was once a national sport.

India were the undisputed masters of the game with eight Olympic gold medals, but hockey faded from public consciousness after victories became rare and children took up more lucrative cricket.

Indian hockey has fallen on such hard days that it is not even assured of a place at next year’s Beijing Olympics, needing to win one of the three qualifying events early next year to make the trip.

“Chak De! India” is based on the life of former Indian goalkeeper Mir Ranjan Negi, who was vilified after letting in seven goals against Pakistan in the Asian Games final in New Delhi in 1982.

Negi later became a coach and helped the Indian men win the Asian Games gold medal at Bangkok in 1998 and fired the women’s team to an unexpected Commonwealth Games gold medal at Manchester in 2002.

In the film, Shahrukh plays Kabir Khan, who is hounded out of the game and branded a traitor after missing a penalty stroke against - who else? - Pakistan.

Kabir returns seven years later as women’s coach to mould a rag-tag bunch of 16 no-hopers into a polished team that goes on to defeat world champions Australia at the World Cup in Melbourne.

The predictable story line of victory for the underdogs is enhanced by a command performance from Shakrukh and the 16 girls who were trained to play hockey before filming began.

“By the time the film's shooting ended, the girls were playing so well that they could have formed a formidable team at the national level,” said Negi, who acted as consultant for the film.

“None of them had watched a hockey match before, let alone played the game.

“I had to ensure they looked like real players. It had to be as if the Indian team was performing on screen.

“I trained them for nearly six months, from physical training to actual match situations. Some of them were uncomfortable wearing skirts. They did not know how to hold a hockey stick.

“But all of us were determined to portray something real. And I think it has come out well on the screen. It’s a beautiful film.”

The film also takes pot shots at the nation’s obsession with cricket. One of the girls breaks her engagement with a haughty cricketer who scorned at her move to delay their marriage so that she could play at the World Cup.

Noted movie critic Rajeev Masand said the film, produced by Bollywood’s top production house, Yashraj Films, and directed by young Shimit Amin, “keeps you glued to your seat because the hockey scenes are terrific”.

”It’s got a predictable premise and you know exactly which way the story’s going to go, but sometimes, when the characters win over your heart and you’re rooting for them to win, that’s all that really matters,” he said.

Dutchman Herman Kruis, a guest coach of the actual Indian women’s team, was delighted to watch the film with his wards at a special screening at their training base in Lucknow.

“I did not understand a word in the movie, but that did not matter,” he said. “Any hockey lover will understand the emotions the girls and the coach go through in the film.”

Negi hoped the film will help revive hockey in the country. “Even if one youngster is inspired by the movie to take up the sport, the hard work which everyone has put in will pay off.”—AFP