Before Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan was Aditya Chopra's first choice for this National Award-winning blockbuster film

Shah Rukh Khan played Kabir Khan, the head coach of the Indian women's national field hockey team in Chak De! India. Khan's portrayal as Kabir Khan was sincere, emotional, earnest and heartful, and won over the hearts of the audiences. It is still counted among Shah Rukh's best performances in his entire acting career.

Vidya Malvade, Shilpa Shukla, Sagarika Ghatge, Chitrashi Rawat, Tanya Abrol, Anaitha Nair, Shubhi Mehta, Nichola Sequeira, Sandia Furtado, Arya Menon, Kimi Laldawla, Masochon Zimik, Seema Azmi, Kimberly Miranda, Nisha Nair, and Raynia Mascerhanas made up the Indian women's national field hockey team. Referred to as the Chak De! Girls, they jointly won the Best Supporting Actress award at the Screen Awards in 2008.

Before Shah Rukh Khan, Aditya Chopra had offered Chak De! India to Salman Khan. While talking to the media during the Sultan promotions, Salman revealed the reason why he rejected the film. He said, "When I was offered Chak De, my image was totally different as I was doing Partner and all those kind of films. My only thing in Chak De was that my fans would expect me to wear a wig and win the match for India which would not go for the film. That was not my genre at that point of time."

Made in just Rs 20 crore, Chak De! India earned earned Rs 67.72 crore net in India and grossed Rs 109.20 crore worldwide at the box office, as per the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk. The sports drama was declared a blockbuster and is often called the best sports film made in India, along with Lagaan.

Producer Aditya Chopra and director Shimit Amin received the National Award when Chak De! India was named the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment at the 55th National Film Awards. At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, the sports drama won Best Film (Critics), Best Action, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Shah Rukh Khan received the Best Actor award.

Composed by Salim-Sulaiman, sung by Sukhwinder Singh, and written by Jaideep Sahni, the title song Chak De! India became the sports anthem of India. The track is still played whenever Indian sportspersons bring laurels to the nation by winning medals and championships across different sports.