So, this is what Dangal is about – a professional wrestler, who couldn’t get a gold medal for his country, trains his own daughters to achieve that feat.

Sounds familiar, right?

Aamir Khan’s role in Dangal is uncannily similar to Shah Rukh Khan’s in Chak De! India. Both of them portray professional athletes (in a sport ignored by the country) who couldn’t win the top spot during their individual careers. They are continuously riddled by that failure and have an obsession with the gold medal. Remember Shah Rukh’s famous scene in which he is rubbing his silver medal, hoping it turns into gold one day?

Both of the men decide to work with women – In Chak De! India, Shah Rukh’s Kabir Khan takes up the responsibility of the Indian women’s hockey team and in Dangal, Aamir decides to train his own daughters. Interestingly, in both the films, these young women first prove their mettle against men to be taken seriously.

And of course, there are the added emotional ingredients of patriotism and sports(wo)manship, common narrative threads running through both the films. It is very difficult for us to not see a major Chak De! India influence on Dangal. Having said that, both the films follow a similar pattern of sports films heavily borrowed from American films.

The highlights of Dangal’s trailer are Sakshi Tanwar (in a promising outing after her K-serial days) and Aamir Khan flexing his beastly back in the last few seconds of the video. Take a look: