Dangal

2016 2h 41m HI

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 1,228

DramaFamilyComedy

Synopsis

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Dangal is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world class wrestlers.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Aamir Khan
Mahavir Singh Phogat
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Geeta Phogat
Sanya Malhotra
Babita Kumari
Zaira Wasim
Young Geeta
Suhani Bhatnagar
Young Babita
Aparshakti Khurana
Omkar
Girish Kulkarni
Coach Pramod Kadam
Sakshi Tanwar
Daya Kaur

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nitesh Tiwari
Writers: Nitesh Tiwari, Nikhil Mehrotra
Languages: Hindi
Countries: India

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $311M — a 29.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, shot by Satyajit Pande. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Pritam Chakraborty. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ballu Saluja shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt5074352 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nitesh Tiwari directs. Satyajit Pande behind the camera. Pritam Chakraborty scores. Ballu Saluja cuts. A long sit — settle in. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in India. Dialogue in Hindi.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 161 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Grossed $311M — a 29.9× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
3Released 10 years ago.
4Directed by Nitesh Tiwari, shot by Satyajit Pande. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Pritam Chakraborty. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ballu Saluja shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Aamir Khan and Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanya Malhotra carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt5074352 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 23 themes, including "small town", "strong woman", "sports", "parent child relationship".

The technical file

Cinematography: Satyajit Pande
Original score: Pritam Chakraborty
Editing: Ballu Saluja
Production design: Laxmi Keluskar
Costume design: Maxima Basu
Makeup / hair: Avan Contractor
VFX supervisor: Prasad Sutar
Sound: Shajith Koyeri
Stunt coordinator: Sham Kaushal
Runtime: 161 min · 2h 41m
Status: Released
Budget: $10,400,000
Box office: $311,000,000
Return: 2990% of budget
Original language: HI
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Dangal (2016)

Awards

Zee Cine Award for Best Film
Filmfare Award for Best Film

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Nitesh Tiwari

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Svumpukkel852017-11-14
An inspiring feel-good true story about fighting for a dream that only you can see. Most importantly this movie dares to put up a fight fighting against old Indian traditions and female prejudice. Two daughters overcome heavy obstacles to become world famous Indian wrestlers, with the support and motivation of their father and trainer. It is a very colorful, well-made lighthearted entertainment. The acting is fine, and the characters are relatable. A drawback is that it is way too long for a one-night-movie, and should have been made into a mini-series. Overlooking the abuse-aspect: I think it is important to say that personally, I don't agree with most of the methods the father used to train, strengthen and harden his daughters, as a lot of actually was serious child abuse. Their mother also acts as the passive typical enabler. To make it worse, the movie dismisses and jokes about the psychological hurt on the daughters as if it didn't do any damage. In Europe, the father would have been jailed and the kids taken away by CPS. I think it is a big misunderstanding to glorify abusive behavior, but I guess Indians still have to learn that you can motivate your children without abusing them.
r96sk2020-11-19
★ 6/10
Too long, too predictable and too slow. After the 161 minutes were over, I didn't hold anything majorly negative about 'Dangal' as it does improve as it goes on. However, the first chunk of this film is yawnful, with the story falling to initially inspire - just a guide on how to be a bad parent, in anything. The ending is also pretty cartoonish, with the broom cupboard stuff. The cast performances are, in fairness, very good. Aamir Khan does great as Mahavir, while Fatima Sana Shaikh (and Zaira Wasim) are impressive as Geeta. Sanya Malhotra (and Suhani Bhatnagar) deserve praise also. With that noted, It isn't really anything all that fresh for Bollywood sport biopics either. It follows similar beats to 2014's 'Mary Kom' and 2015's 'Brothers'... even 2011's 'Patiala House'. For me, this 2016 production just feels so bloated and forced that it hampers the, admittedly noteworthy, hearty narrative. The leads are the only strong points to it in my opinion. It has been very highly received by others, so what do I know? Opinions and all that.

Production companies