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
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Rupee settles 1 paisa higher to close at 94.15 against US dollar
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee settled with gains of just one paisa to close at 94.15 against the US dollar on Monday, as rising global uncertainty, escalating tensions in West Asia and soaring crude oil prices weighed on investor sentiments.
Forex traders said the INR/USD pair pared its initial losses, but the overall bias remains negative as FII sell-off and elevated crude oil prices restricted the gains for the local unit.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 94.25 against the US dollar, and touched an intraday high of 94.11 and a low of 94.28 against the greenback during the day.
At the end of Monday's trading session, the rupee was quoted at 94.15, registering a gain of just 1 paisa over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee extended its losing streak for the fifth day in a row, depreciating 15 paise to close at 94.16 against the US dollar.
"The rupee snapped a five-session losing streak, rebounding in tandem with a rally across regional currencies. However, the mood remains apprehensive as the market braces for a potential RBI intervention around 94.30 and higher crude oil prices," said Dilip Parmar – Senior Research Analyst, HDFC Securities.
On the charts, the USDINR pair has reclaimed its upward momentum, carving out a classic bullish structure of higher highs and lows on the daily time frame, he said, adding that for the coming sessions, 93.80 serves as a support, with 94.40 acting as the primary hurdle.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was down 0.21 per cent at 98.32.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 2.36 per cent at USD 107.82 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, Sensex jumped 639.42 points to settle at 77,303.63, while the Nifty surged 194.75 points to 24,092.70.
Foreign Institutional Investors offloaded equities worth Rs 1,151.48 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves jumped by USD 2.362 billion to USD 703.308 billion during the week ended April 17, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Friday.
In the previous reporting week, the forex kitty had increased by USD 3.825 billion to USD 700.946 billion.
