Pakistan’s Copycat Syndrome: From Culture to Chak De India

All the rants from across the border — “We are superior,” “Our culture is superior,” “Our people are superior” — fall flat the moment you start observing the little things. Scratch beneath the surface, and what do you find? A nation that simply cannot resist copying India. And not just any India — they seem particularly fond of our filmi culture.

Take this recent snapshot of the Pakistan women’s cricket team celebrating their ICC Women’s World Cup qualification. They're all smiles — and rightly so. Qualifying for a global tournament is no small feat. But here’s the catch: their celebration was marked by a now-familiar gesture — the motion of a plane taking off.

Sound familiar? It should. It’s the exact same gesture that Shah Rukh Khan makes in Chak De India, when the Indian women’s hockey team gets the green light to fly to Australia for the World Cup. The parallels are striking. A women’s team. Doubts about qualification. An uphill battle. And a triumphant gesture of flight. It’s not subtle, it’s not accidental — it’s inspired. And by “inspired,” I mean blatantly copied.

Let’s be honest. It’s not just a hand movement. It’s a cultural imprint, a reference that only makes sense if you’ve seen the film. And from the look of it, every single one of them had. They’ve seen Chak De India. They were influenced by it. Possibly even motivated by it.

And that’s where the irony kicks in. For all the nationalistic chest-thumping and “we are not India” rhetoric, when it’s time to express raw emotion and celebrate the feel-good, the hard-earned, the heroic, they fall back on Indian cinema. And not just any Indian cinema — they fall back on Shah Rukh Khan.

If copying is the highest form of flattery, then Pakistan is a master in the art of imitation. From television formats to cricket leagues, from music videos to movie scenes, from news anchors to national narratives — if it’s Indian and it works, it eventually makes its way across the border with a few tweaks and a lot of denial.

So here’s to the Pakistani women’s team — for qualifying, for making history, and for giving a nod (whether they admit it or not) to Chak De India. Sometimes, gestures speak louder than words. And sometimes, even louder than borders.