Phogat, family of wrestlers
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Dangal : How much is fiction?
While the core of director Nitesh Tiwari’s movie, Dangal, story holds true to the real life events of Mahavir Singh Phogat, director Nitesh Tiwari allowed himself a few cinematic liberties. Here are a few facts shown in Dangal that differ from what happened in the real life of the Phogats.
1. Was Mahavir Singh Phogat really disappointed at getting daughters?
In the movie, Mahavir Singh Phogat desperately wants a boy child so that he can win a gold medal for the country. He and his wife try four times to give birth to a boy, but instead give birth to four girls. However, in reality, it was the girls’ mother who was quite disappointed as she was the one who wished for a boy.
Geeta Phogat’s wrestler dad Mahavir Singh glorified in Aamir Khan’s Dangal, Dec 23, 2016, Hindustan Times/ PTI add more details:
When Geeta Phogat, the first Indian woman to win a gold in wrestling at the Commonwealth Games was born in 1988, her mother was quite disappointed as she was wishing for a boy, claims a new book on the Phogats.
The book “Akhada: The Authorized Biography of Mahavir Singh Phogat” tells that surprisingly Geeta’s mother Daya Kaur and not her father Mahavir was disappointed when she learnt that her first child was a girl.
Coached by her father, Geeta wrote her name in the record books as she became India’s woman gold medallist at the Commonwealth games prevailing over Aussie grappler Emily Bensted on October 7, 2010. That she was from Haryana, a state infamous for female foeticide, made her feat even more remarkable.
“As Mahavir stood amid the cheering crowd that day, his gaze locked in on his daughter with pride, the cold winter morning of 1988 flashed before his eyes. That was the day when he had held her in his arms and emphatically proclaimed one day she will make her family proud,” says the book.
“It was not so much a declaration made by a father overwhelmed at the birth of his firstborn as the solemn promise of a man torn apart by his family’s contempt towards his newborn because she was a girl,” says the book written by Hindustan Times journalist Saurabh Duggal.
“One can perhaps imagine the state of Mahavir’s mind as the father of a daughter in the late 80s, when girls were considered a liability. But, ironically, it was not Mahavir but his wife, Daya Kaur, who was hoping that their first child would be a boy,” writes Duggal.
“When the baby was born, the chill of the winter morning stung a little more fiercely as Daya realised that their firstborn was a girl. Her disappointment showed clearly on her face,” the book says.
“I have introduced the girls to wrestling with the aim of winning an Olympic gold for the country and until that happens, my mission will not be accomplished,” says Mahavir Singh Phogat.
2. Was there really a villainous coach as portrayed in the film?
Like Bollywood movies on sports, Dangal creates a villain in the coach Pramod Kadam at the National Sports Academy (played by Girish Kulkarni), who demands that Geeta disavow her previous training. In reality, this character is fictional and there is no such villainous coach in the life of Geeta Phogat or any of her sisters.
3. Did Geeta not Win a Single Tournament Before the Commonwealth Games?
In the movie, Geeta Phogat doesn’t win a single tournament before the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She also receives a lot of flak from the coach in the movie for not excelling on the international stage.
However, in reality, Geeta had earlier won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in 2009, where she competed in the 55kg freestyle wrestling category. Interestingly, Geeta’s 2010 CWG gold was followed by another gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championship in Melbourne in 2011!
4. Was Geeta’s real Commonwealth Games Gold Medal Match the Cliffhanger that is shown in the film?
In the movie, Geeta Phogat struggles to win the gold medal match in the Commonwealth Games in 2010. She scores a five-pointer in the nail-biting final round of the match and clinches the gold medal with a scoreline of 5-1, 4-6, 6-5.
However, in reality, Geeta Phogat completely dominated her opponent and won the match in just two rounds, unlike the one shown in the movie that went on to three rounds. Her score was 1-0, 7-0. Also, Geeta Phogat has long hair in the real match, while her reel counterpart in the movie has a really short hairstyle.
5. Was Mahavir Phogat locked up during Geeta’s Commonwealth Games final match?
In the movie, Mahavir Phogat is taken to a room and locked up by a person sent by the Indian wrestling team coach just before the gold medal match. As a result, he misses the entire final.
In reality, Mahavir Singh Phogat was in the stands during Geeta’s match and saw his daughter win the Commonwealth Games gold medal.
“As Mahavir stood amid the cheering crowd that day, his gaze locked in on his daughter with pride, the cold winter morning of 1988 flashed before his eyes. That was the day when he had held her in his arms and emphatically proclaimed one day she will make her family proud,” Saurabh Duggal describes in his book, ‘Akhada‘.
The Phogats that Dangal does not show
Just before Dangal’s end credits started rolling the audience was briefly apprised of Babita Phogat’s career, which, they realised, had been no less illustrious than Geeta’s. The almost unanimous reaction among the audience was that the film had been unfair to Babita.
Manoj Kaushik, in his article, दंगल में नहीं दिखाई गईं फोगाट परिवार की ये बेटियां, गीता-बबिता से नहीं हैं कम, published in Dainik Bhaskar on Dec 28, 2016, tells us about other Phogats whom the film overlooked:
The Phogats have four daughters, but the film has merely shown Geeta Phogat and Babita Phogat.
Mahavir Phogat’s third daughter Ritu Phogat has not been shown. Ritu is a Pro Wrestling League Wrestler and is also the most expensive player. Jaipur ‘purchased’ her for Rs.36 lakh in the Pro Wrestling League. She was the (senior) National Champion in 2015 and 2016, and won a gold medal in the Commonwealth Championship in 2016.
The youngest daughter Sangeeta Phogat has also not been shown in the film.
The film does not mention Mahavir’s son. Dushyant Phogat was born in 2003, and this son of Mahavir Phogat is not mentioned anywhere in the film.
The film does show Mahavir Phogat's brother’s son Omkar.
Vinesh Phogat and her mother are not in the film. Since her father's death she has been staying with Phogat Mahavir.
Vinesh took part in the Rio Olympics.
Priyanka Phogat, the daughter of another brother of Mahavir, is also a wrestler. There is no mention of her in the film. Since 2015 she has been participating in Pro Wrestling.
