India's reel 'Chak De!' moment turns real: SRK asks women's hockey team to 'bring some gold'
Mumbai, Aug 2: Harking back to his role of a tough and dedicated hockey coach in the acclaimed sports drama "Chak De! India", Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan on Monday encouraged the Indian women's hockey team, who made their maiden entry into the Olympic semifinals, to bring a gold medal.
Shah Rukh played Kabir Khan in the 2007 Shimit Amin-directorial film which saw his character lead the Indian women's hockey team to their win against Australia in the World Cup.
The reel victory was scripted in real life today after the team, led by Dutch coach Sjoerd Marijne and captain Rani Rampal, created history by advancing to its first ever semifinal at the Olympics in Tokyo after beating three-time champions Australia by a solitary goal.
After the win, Marijne apologised to his family for delaying his travel plans in a tweet, quipping "Sorry family. I coming again later. (sic)"
To which Shah Rukh, true to his witty persona, replied saying bringing a gold medal on their return would be a suitable gift for him on Dhanteras, which this year coincidentally falls on the actor's 56th birthday.
"Haan haan no problem. Just bring some Gold on your way back for a billion family members. This time Dhanteras is also on 2nd Nov. From: Ex-coach Kabir Khan," the Bollywood star wrote.
On Dhanteras, which marks the first day of the five-day festival of Diwali, people purchase utensils and jewellery to bring good luck.
Marijne expressed his gratitude to the actor in a cheeky tweet.
"Thank you for all the support and love. We will give everything again. From: The Real Coach," he wrote along side a photo with the team after winning the match.
Following the win, hashtags of 'Kabir Khan' and 'Chak De! India' started trending on the microblogging site Twitter.
The friendly banter between the reel and real coaches, however, also led to some social media users trolling Khan.
Some tweeples criticised the actor for allegedly taking away the limelight from Marijne, who hails from the Netherlands, with another writing that people should celebrate real heroes and not film stars.
There was also plenty of support for the superstar with a fan digging out a 2017 tweet of Rani Rampal, Indian women's hockey team captain, where she praised the actor's "Chak De! India".
Sharing a tweet by Doordarshan on the film's screening on its channel, Rampal had tagged Shah Rukh and wrote, "@iamsrk sir your movie is really a big motivation."
Other film personalities like Anushka Sharma, Arjun Kapoor, and Taapsee Pannu also celebrated the historic achievement and congratulated the team on social media.
Describing the win as a "Chak! De" moment, Pannu said the victory was humbling.
"Our chakk de moment never felt more real! Our girls beat the Aussies 1-0 and stormed into the semis! Go for it @imranirampal your girls have our heart," Pannu wrote, tagging Rampal.
Sharma took to Instagram and wrote that the women's hockey team had made the entire country proud.
"India creates history again!! Congratulations to the women's hockey team on qualifying for the semi finals! Super proud," the actor-producer wrote.
A day after the Indian men's team entered the Olympic semifinals following a 49-year gap, the world no. 9 women's side also produced a phenomenally gritty performance against the world no 2 Australia in an intense quarterfinals.
In another post, Sharma, 33, lauded the men's team and said it was a "glorious" moment for India.
"Incredible performance! Congratulations on qualifying for the semis. What a glorious moment for our country! Men's and Women's hockey teams are into the semis!"
Kapoor shared the news of the win on Instagram and wrote, "What a proud moment for us! Both our hockey teams went into the semi finals! Let's go team India. We're so proud."
Actor Randeep Hooda said it was surreal to witness the game imitating the thrill of the film.
"What a match. Super defending. Real imitates Reel #ChakDeIndia. History created by the Indian Women's #hockeyindia first semi final like ever," Hooda tweeted.
Actors Ayushmann Khurrana and Disha Patani also lauded the women's hockey team for the win.
"Yes we are in the semis! Indian women's hockey team, what a win! #ChakDeIndia #IndianHockey," actor Neha Dhupia wrote.
The Indian side will play Argentina in the semifinal on Wednesday.
Haan haan no problem. Just bring some Gold on your way back….for a billion family members. This time Dhanteras is also on 2nd Nov. From: Ex-coach Kabir Khan. https://t.co/QcnqbtLVGX
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) August 2, 2021
Thank you for all the support and love. We will give everything again.
— Sjoerd Marijne (@SjoerdMarijne) August 2, 2021
From: The Real Coach. ? https://t.co/TpKTMuFLxt
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
