''Gold: The Dream That United Our Nation'', or simply ''Gold'', is a 2018 Indian
Hindi
Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
sports film
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport or a sports-related topic is prominently featured or is a focus of the plot. D ...
written and directed by Reema Kagti and produced by
Farhan Akhtar
Farhan Akhtar (born 9 January 1974) is an Indian actor, filmmaker and singer who works in Hindi films. Born to screenwriters Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani, he established the production company Excel Entertainment, along with Ritesh Sidhwa ...
ensemble cast
In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that comprises many principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17
Structure
In contrast to the po ...
of
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...
and follows Tapan Das, the man who won India its first gold medal in the same event. ''Gold'' was theatrically released on 15 August 2018 during India's
Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
. The film grossed against a budget of at the box office ''Gold'' also became the first Bollywood film to be released in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
.
Plot
The story begins around the time of the
Berlin Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. Despite the Germans attempting to play rough against the Indian team, the Indians start winning in the second half, when the team's assistant manager, Tapan Das (
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
), shows them the Indian Flag during the half time break. When the captain Samrat ( Kunal Kapoor) and team receive the gold medal, the British National Anthem is played and the flag of British India is hoisted, but the Indian team promise themselves that they will win a Gold medal once again on behalf of their motherland, after India gets Independence.
The subsequent Olympics are cancelled because of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. After the war, a drunk and spoiled Tapan roams and loses in several bets but sobers up when he gets the news that the next Olympics will be held in London in 1948. He holds aspirations of making India play hockey as a free country, coaching a novice hockey team to earn independent India's first Olympic gold medal at the
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and officially branded as London 1948, were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus cau ...
.
Tapan now struggles to win his position as a joint manager of the team and promises to bring up best players from the new generation. He manages to convince Mr. Wadia, and goes out for his work back. He meets the former hockey captain Samrat, now retired, to lead to guide the team. But Samrat refuses and suggests teammate Imtiaz Ali Shah ( Vineet Kumar Singh). Imtiaz, a great contributor of the 1936 Olympics along with Samrat, was a soldier for the
Indian National Army
The Indian National Army (INA, sometimes Second INA; ''Azad Hind Fauj'' ; 'Free Indian Army') was a Empire of Japan, Japanese-allied and -supported armed force constituted in Southeast Asia during World War II and led by Indian Nationalism#An ...
. Tapan meets Imtiaz and they decide to continue their dream and oath to win the gold medal for an independent India. With Independence for India looming on the horizon, Tapan travels to different parts of India to scout for the best players for the team.
Finally Tapan keeps his promise and creates the national hockey team, taking players from several regions. Among them are Thakur Raghubir Pratap Singh ( Amit Sadh) and Himmat Singh ( Sunny Kaushal), a pair of talented centre forwards from
Central India
Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...
and
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
riot
A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people.
Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...
, Imtiaz gets injured when some Hindus and Sikhs tried to burn him alive, but is saved by Tapan and Himmat. They reach Imtiaz's house come hockey club, but to their disappointment, his house is burnt and destroyed. A heartbroken Imtiaz refuses to stay further in India and leaves for Lahore. A heartbroken Tapan narrates that along with the division of the country, their dreams and aspirations also broke apart. Half the team ends up playing for Pakistan, while a few others - mainly Anglo-Indians - move to Australia.
Tapan decides to make it on his own, and brings up the team for practice at a small Buddhist School. The head monk of the
ashram
An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism.
Etymology
The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Mouni Roy), also supports and helps him realize his dreams. The training begins but there is a lack of teamwork between the players due to several conflicts. Raghubir, who keeps on his pride, always tries himself to get over the hard working Himmat. On the other hand, Devang Chaturvedi is an efficient player with wit and wisdom. Tapan and Samrat finally teach the players a lesson of unity and conclude the training. Samrat makes Devang, the captain, Raghubir, the vice Captain and tells Tapan that Himmat is a hidden treasure to be used at the right time of the Olympics.
Mr. Wadia, as a chairperson of the Hockey Council, becomes the Head Coach and Tapan is once again honoured as the assistant manager of the team. A jealous Mehta ( Atul Kale) deceives Tapan by mixing some alcohol in his drink and an intoxicated Tapan behaves very badly in the party organized by the Hockey Council and is fired from his position, being replaced by Mehta.
The team is now brought to the Olympic level in London by Mehta, But Mehta's usual ego and pride brings upon his bad image to the players when they complain against him. Mr. Wadia then sends for Tapan, and Tapan comes to London with the blessing of Mr. Wadia, who himself returned there from New York. The Olympics begin but Himmat is not allowed to play.
India plays well to reach and win the semi-finals. But since he is not in the player list, Himmat thinks it is a conspiracy by Raghubir just to let him down. During a celebration, Himmat starts fighting with Raghubir and a conflict grows between them, which tarnishes Himmat's image. Devang and Raghubir try to explain to Himmat that it was Tapan who selected the player list for the game, but all in vain.
Finally, in the semi-finals, Tapan has listed Himmat to play, but since other players had complained against his behaviour the previous night, Himmat is not allowed to play. Tapan explains the reason that in the league matches, the opponent players mark the good players, and in the semi-finals or finals, they have marked making it difficult for them to play well. Although India wins the semi-finals, it turns a hard match.
In
the finals
''The Finals'' is a free-to-play first-person shooter, developed and published by Embark Studios. The game focuses on team-based matches on maps with a destructible environment, where players (who are divided into a number of distinct classes) ...
, during the first half against Great Britain, Himmat is benched again, and Great Britain scores 2 goals. During half time in the Indian dressing room Tapan has a heated argument with Mehta about the need of Himmat's playing when Mehta refuses to change the team at the last minute. Tapan shows everyone the Indian Flag and tells them he has been carrying it since Berlin Olympics to see his dream come true. He leaves the room telling Raghubir that if he doesen't understand the unity of team now it will be too late for him.
Then after, the second half starts Himmat is seen playing and then scores a goal with the help of Raghubir. Although bad weather conditions seemed in favor of the British, Tapan asks everyone to open their shoe to maintain grip on the ground. Finally India wins the match at 4–3 with Himmat scoring the last minute goal.
Finally, when the captain, Devang receives the gold medal, the
National Flag
A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...
of independent India is hoisted and the anthem "
Jana Gana Mana
"" is the national anthem of the Republic of India. It was originally composed as " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" in Bengali by polymath and activist Rabindranath Tagore on 11 December 1911. The first stanza of the song " Bharoto Bhagyo Bidhata" ...
" is played. A proud Tapan concludes the narration with the words ''"Vande Mataram"'' (Victory to Mother India) as the anthem ends and tears of happiness take place.
Cast
Production
Development
The official announcement of the film was made in October 2016 by its lead actor
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
.
The
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards given for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games, is the second-highest sporting honour of India, the highest being the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award. The award is named after Arjun ...
winner and former Indian national hockey team captain, Sandeep Singh, was signed to train the actors to improve their hockey skills. According to Reema Kagti, "It’s a fictional take on what happened. Also, it is not just the golden victory in 1948 we will be looking at, but it will encompass 12 crucial years in India’s history."
Filming
The
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as the ...
of the film began on 1 July 2017 in
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. The shooting of the film was carried out in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
at
Bradford
Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...
,
Doncaster
Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...
and
Rotherham
Rotherham ( ) is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It lies at the confluence of the River Rother, South Yorkshire, River Rother, from which the town gets its name, and the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don. It is the largest settlement ...
. After finishing the England schedule, the production team of Gold moved to
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
in September 2017 for its second schedule in which shooting was done in
Amritsar
Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...
and
Patiala
Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...
. Some parts of the movie were also shot in New Egerton Woolen Mills, Dhariwal a town in Punjab. The reason was the British infrastructure in the long established mill which resembled the post independence era. The final schedule of the film was completed in
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
in December 2017. On 10 December 2017,
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
announced that the filming process of Gold had been completed.
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar (born 1945) is an Indian screenwriter, lyricist and poet. Known for his work in Hindi cinema, he has won five National Film Awards, and received the Padma Shri in 1999 and the Padma Bhushan in 2007, two of India's highest civili ...
, Vayu, Arko Pravo Mukherjee and Chandrajeet Gannguli.
Marketing and release
The teaser for the film was launched on 5 February 2018. The first poster of movie was released by
Akshay Kumar
Akshay Hari Om Bhatia (born Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia; 9 September 1967), known professionally as Akshay Kumar (), is an Indian actor and film producer working in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as "Khiladi Kumar", through his career span ...
on his Twitter handle on 28 April 2018. The trailer of the film was released on 9 May 2018.
Some
Emoji
An emoji ( ; plural emoji or emojis; , ) is a pictogram, logogram, ideogram, or smiley embedded in text and used in electronic messages and web pages. The primary function of modern emoji is to fill in emotional cues otherwise missing from type ...
were launched on Twitter to promote the movie which worked by applying
hashtag
A hashtag is a metadata tag operator that is prefaced by the hash symbol, ''#''. On social media, hashtags are used on microblogging and photo-sharing services–especially Twitter and Tumblr–as a form of user-generated tagging that enable ...
before specific keywords like #GoldMovie or #Gold2018. These emojis were effective until 16 August 2018.
In India, the film released on 15 August 2018 with 3040 screens, including
IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...
Satyameva Jayate
Satyameva Jayate (; ) is a part of a ''mantra'' from the Hindu texts, Hindu scripture ''Mundaka Upanishad''. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a Republic ...
''.
After having been released in India, ''Gold'' was released in China on 13 December 2019. It was banned by the Pakistan Central Board of Film Censors for apprehensions regarding the depiction of the 1947 partition.
Box office
In India, ''Gold'' advance booking collection was 13.25 crore. The film netted 25.25 crore on its opening day, becoming one of the year's biggest opening day releases. As it released on the day of Wednesday, it had a 5 days extended weekend, in which it netted 71.10 crore in India. The extended 9 days week nett collection of the film was 89.30 crore. By the end of its third week, ''Gold'' had netted 108 crore at the domestic box office. It netted 109.58 crore in full theatrical run in India.The film had a gross collection of 141.04 crore domestically.