Mir Ranjan Negi
Encyclopedia
Mir Ranjan Negi is a field hockey
player and former goalkeeper of the India national field hockey team
. He would later be involved with the development of the 2007 hit film, Chak De India
.
, Negi was the goalkeeper for the India national field hockey team
in the final field hockey match against Pakistan. India lost 1-7, which brought "unprecedented humiliation for India in a sporting arena. The nation went into a mourning and Negi into hiding. Negi was accused in some quarters of having conceded those goals." Of the event, journalist Anand Philar stated, "I had covered the 7-1 drubbing Pakistan handed out to India in the 1982 Asian Games final, which turned goalkeeper Negi's life upside down. He was literally pilloried by armchair critics, the media and an ignorant public for letting in so many goals. Some of the tabloids even ran headlines crying out that Pakistan had bribed Negi and that he was a 'traitor.'" In an interview with Philar after the event, Negi stated, "Everywhere I went, I was abused by the public. Nothing matters to me more than playing for my country. I am a proud Indian and will always be so. There were lots of things that happened in the run-up to the final. You find out. I will not speak about the politics that contributed to our defeat." Former captain Zafar Iqbal
later stated, "The entire team was to blame; we forwards missed chances, the defence left huge gaps that the Pakistanis exploited. Despite making great efforts to cover the gaps, poor Negi became a sitting duck and the Pakistanis scored at will [...] He was blamed solely, but every player was to blame [...] The atmosphere was vicious. I remember someone claiming that he had seen Negi come out of the Pakistan High Commission on match eve [...] Some even enquired whether Negi, with his first name Mir, was Muslim." Afterwards, he was let go by the Indian Hockey Federation and quit the game for many years.
in which the India national field hockey team
won the Gold. This position, however, only proved temporary and he left the game once again. Four years later, Negi was hired to be the goalkeeping coach of the India women's national field hockey team
. The team won the Gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
. He was also the assistant coach for the Women's team when it won the Gold at the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup
.
by the India women's national field hockey team
and thought that the premise would make an interesting film. Negi has often been compared with Kabir Khan in the media.
On this connection Negi, himself, would later comment, "This movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life. It is in fact the story of a team that becomes a winning lot from a bunch of hopeless girls [...] There is nothing called World Championships in international hockey. It would be stupid to believe that Yash Raj Films would pump in Rs.45 crores to make a documentary on me. So it's illogical that it is a documentation of my life."
Sahani further stated in an interview with The Hindu
:
Sahani also stated in another interview with NDTV.com that the script was conceived before he met Negi:
Both Kaushik and Negi did influence the development of the film after being approached by Sahini. Sahini first met with Kaushik and later recalled that, "M K Kaushik and his girls taught us all we knew about hockey. Then he recommended Negi to us, because when we finished writing and finished casting, we needed someone to train the girls. Negi assembled a team of hockey players to train the girls." Kaushik also states in the same interview that, "I taught him everything about the game, starting from how the camp is conducted, how the girls come from different backgrounds and cultures, the psychological factors involved. Also how the coach faces pressure to select girls from different states and teams."
Sahini also contacted Negi and asked him to coach the actors portraying the hockey team. While not initially enthusiastic about being involved in the film, Negi changed his mind after reading the screenplay. He acted as the coach and trainer for the cast stating, "I trained the girls for six months. Waking up at 4, travelling from Kandivili to Churchgate. We would retire around 11 in the night. It was tiring. But we were on a mission [...] They couldn’t run; couldn’t hold the hockey sticks. I ensured none of them [would have to] cut their nails or eyebrows (as the players do). The girls have worked very hard. I salute them." Some of the actors however, such as Chitrashi, Sandia, and Raynia were cast because they are actual hockey players. Negi also had to train Shahrukh Khan for the film stating, "I had to plan every hockey move shown in the movie, including the penalty stroke that SRK missed. That shot alone took us nearly 20 hours as I was keen that it should be very realistic. I took the help of a lot of my former teammates. But more importantly, it was so easy working with SRK. He is unbelievably modest and was willing to do as many re-takes as we wanted."
Field hockey
Field Hockey, or Hockey, is a team sport in which a team of players attempts to score goals by hitting, pushing or flicking a ball into an opposing team's goal using sticks...
player and former goalkeeper of the India national field hockey team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
. He would later be involved with the development of the 2007 hit film, Chak De India
Chak De India
Chak De! India is a 2007 Indian sports films about field hockey in India. It is directed by Shimit Amin, produced by Yash Raj Films, written by Jaideep Sahni, sports action by ReelSports, and stars Shahrukh Khan as Kabir Khan, the former captain of the Indian hockey team. After a disastrous loss...
.
1982 Asian Games
In the 1982 Asian Games1982 Asian Games
The 9th Asian Games were held from November 19, 1982 to December 4, 1982 in Delhi, India.An incredible 74 Asian and Asian Games records were broken. This was also the first Asiad to be held under the aegis of the Olympic Council of Asia.-Sports:...
, Negi was the goalkeeper for the India national field hockey team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
in the final field hockey match against Pakistan. India lost 1-7, which brought "unprecedented humiliation for India in a sporting arena. The nation went into a mourning and Negi into hiding. Negi was accused in some quarters of having conceded those goals." Of the event, journalist Anand Philar stated, "I had covered the 7-1 drubbing Pakistan handed out to India in the 1982 Asian Games final, which turned goalkeeper Negi's life upside down. He was literally pilloried by armchair critics, the media and an ignorant public for letting in so many goals. Some of the tabloids even ran headlines crying out that Pakistan had bribed Negi and that he was a 'traitor.'" In an interview with Philar after the event, Negi stated, "Everywhere I went, I was abused by the public. Nothing matters to me more than playing for my country. I am a proud Indian and will always be so. There were lots of things that happened in the run-up to the final. You find out. I will not speak about the politics that contributed to our defeat." Former captain Zafar Iqbal
Zafar Iqbal (field hockey)
Zafar Iqbal is an Indian field hockey player. He wore Indian blue jersey number 11.-Professional career:Iqbal was a member of the 1980 Summer Olympics field hockey team that won the last Olympic Gold Medal for India...
later stated, "The entire team was to blame; we forwards missed chances, the defence left huge gaps that the Pakistanis exploited. Despite making great efforts to cover the gaps, poor Negi became a sitting duck and the Pakistanis scored at will [...] He was blamed solely, but every player was to blame [...] The atmosphere was vicious. I remember someone claiming that he had seen Negi come out of the Pakistan High Commission on match eve [...] Some even enquired whether Negi, with his first name Mir, was Muslim." Afterwards, he was let go by the Indian Hockey Federation and quit the game for many years.
Later career
He returned as a goalkeeping coach for the 1998 Asian Games1998 Asian Games
The 13th Asian Games were held from December 6 to December 20, 1998 in Bangkok, Thailand. This was the first time that Thailand bid for the event after it shouldered the two postponed hosting rights in 1970 and 1978.-Emblem:...
in which the India national field hockey team
India national field hockey team
The India national field hockey team is the national men's team representing field hockey in India. It is the first non-European team to be a part of the International Hockey Federation....
won the Gold. This position, however, only proved temporary and he left the game once again. Four years later, Negi was hired to be the goalkeeping coach of the India women's national field hockey team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
. The team won the Gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
. He was also the assistant coach for the Women's team when it won the Gold at the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup
Hockey Asia Cup
The ASHF Asia Cup is an international men's and women's field hockey tournament governed by the Asian Hockey Federation . It was introduced in 1982 for men's competition and the women's competition was added a year later as non-official championship until the official tournament held in...
.
Chak De India
Negi would later become involved in the development of the 2007 Bollywood film, Chak De India. The screenplay for Chak De India was written by Bollywood screenwriter Jaideep Sahani. Sahani had read a small article about the winning of the Gold at the 2002 Commonwealth GamesIndia at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
India participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
by the India women's national field hockey team
India women's national field hockey team
The Indian women's national field hockey team is the national women's team representing field hockey in India. Captain Suraj Lata Devi led the team to the Gold for three consecutive years: during the 2002 Commonwealth Games , the 2003 Afro-Asian Games, and the 2004 Hockey Asia Cup...
and thought that the premise would make an interesting film. Negi has often been compared with Kabir Khan in the media.
On this connection Negi, himself, would later comment, "This movie is not a documentary of Mir Ranjan Negi's life. It is in fact the story of a team that becomes a winning lot from a bunch of hopeless girls [...] There is nothing called World Championships in international hockey. It would be stupid to believe that Yash Raj Films would pump in Rs.45 crores to make a documentary on me. So it's illogical that it is a documentation of my life."
Sahani further stated in an interview with The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
:
- I felt why has the girls’ team been given so little coverage. I shared the idea with Aditya (Chopra). He liked it and said stop everything else and concentrate on it. I started my research by spending time with hockey players [...] It’s just a matter of chance that Negi's story matches with Kabir Khan. There are many cases, like in Colombia, football players are killed for not performing well for the club. I had no idea about Negi’s story while writing the script, and he joined us after the script was ready. In fact, his name was suggested by M.K. KaushikMaharaj Krishan KaushikMaharaj Krishan Kaushik is a former member of the India national field hockey team and is former coach of the Indian women's national field hockey team. He was a member of the team when it won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.In 1998, he received the Arjuna Award...
, who was the coach of the team that won the Commonwealth Games’ goldIndia at the 2002 Commonwealth GamesIndia participated in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Notable among the players was the Indian women's hockey team. The team entered the finals after defeating the Australian women's national field hockey team. They went on to receive the Gold after winning the final game against the...
. On day one, when Negi read the script, he cried and it was then that we came to know about his story.
Sahani also stated in another interview with NDTV.com that the script was conceived before he met Negi:
- "Our script was written a year and a half back. It is very unfortunate that something, which is about women athletes, has just started becoming about Negi. And if you would go and ask Negi, he would probably tell you that he came and read the script that was written a year and a half back, and he started crying. Next day, he came and said look, it had happened to me also."
Both Kaushik and Negi did influence the development of the film after being approached by Sahini. Sahini first met with Kaushik and later recalled that, "M K Kaushik and his girls taught us all we knew about hockey. Then he recommended Negi to us, because when we finished writing and finished casting, we needed someone to train the girls. Negi assembled a team of hockey players to train the girls." Kaushik also states in the same interview that, "I taught him everything about the game, starting from how the camp is conducted, how the girls come from different backgrounds and cultures, the psychological factors involved. Also how the coach faces pressure to select girls from different states and teams."
Sahini also contacted Negi and asked him to coach the actors portraying the hockey team. While not initially enthusiastic about being involved in the film, Negi changed his mind after reading the screenplay. He acted as the coach and trainer for the cast stating, "I trained the girls for six months. Waking up at 4, travelling from Kandivili to Churchgate. We would retire around 11 in the night. It was tiring. But we were on a mission [...] They couldn’t run; couldn’t hold the hockey sticks. I ensured none of them [would have to] cut their nails or eyebrows (as the players do). The girls have worked very hard. I salute them." Some of the actors however, such as Chitrashi, Sandia, and Raynia were cast because they are actual hockey players. Negi also had to train Shahrukh Khan for the film stating, "I had to plan every hockey move shown in the movie, including the penalty stroke that SRK missed. That shot alone took us nearly 20 hours as I was keen that it should be very realistic. I took the help of a lot of my former teammates. But more importantly, it was so easy working with SRK. He is unbelievably modest and was willing to do as many re-takes as we wanted."