'Chak De...' heroine owes it to Negi

MUMBAI: She can easily be lost in the huddle — diminutive, unassuming and shy. A typical girl next door — nay woman. Even when she was the captain, she would not stand out.

Rather, she would send across the message to teammates, softly, but surely and strongly.

Her style is an inspiring speech and not a stentorian holler. She would inspire awe but not fear. An affable captain rather than a ratty leader.

Under the bar, she is an altogether different personality. Prompt, alert, agile. Her stretched arms would give an impression that the goal post has been shifted, read shrunk.

For the strikers, she would be the wall that is difficult to breach. If Indian women’s hockey team’s cupboard is glittering with trophies, it is because of her exploits.

Helen Mary is truly the golden girl of Indian hockey — the girl who has provided inspiration to the latest blockbuster — the Shah Rukh-starrer Chak De India.

Under her India won the Asia Cup in 2005, Afro Asian Games in 2003 and of course Commonwealth Games gold in Manchester, a feat that is the talk of the tinsel town.

Today she is far away from the hustle and bustle of the tinsel town. Ensconced somewhere in Kerala, her home state, Helen is now basking in a different glory — motherhood.

He son is just seven days old and this mother is getting to realise that a win on the turf is not the only source of happiness.

Now 30, she may be far away from the noise and stir that Chak De India has created countrywide but she has kept herself abreast of the film’s response. “I’m thrilled,” she told DNA over phone. The excitement in her voice was unmistakable.

The thrill, happiness and excitement is not just for the success of the movie but for her coach, Mir Ranjan Negi, who Shahrukh Khan personifies in the celluloid.

“He is my philosopher, guide and everything. He has changed my life. I became a different player. He is the man behind my career. Negi Sir.”

Helen has got calls and invites from Chak De  makers. No, Shahrukh has not called, but yes, her Negi Sir has. “I’m so happy. He deserves all the credit, all the limelight and all the applauds. He is such a wonderful person and such a great coach. He taught me how to develop as a keeper and how to save penalties.”

Helen remembers how she saved penalty in the Afro-Asian Games final against South Africa in Hyderabad. “He would always guess. I would look at him before every shot and he would signal me to dive to left or right.”

She saved three out of five in Hyderabad, sending her teammates into a tizzy. She was the star of the night. “A goalkeeper can be the villain of the night too,” she observes. “If you fail, all the blame is on the poor keeper. Everyone forgets it is a team game.”

She knows what her mentor has gone through after the 1982 Delhi Asian Games. “I know people have branded him as the villain, traitor, what not. We knew he was not,” she says. “Hope the country knows now.”