As we roll into the Christmas weekend, Santa Claus has dropped a gift into the movie lovers' stocking — the first reviews of Aamir Khan-starrer Dangal are here and they seem to have a lot many good words to say. But what's important to note here is that the film falls into the sports film genre — and that is saying a lot because it's difficult to segregate films into one genre or the other, thanks to all the experimental cinema.

And it is indeed heartening to see the genre of sports films evolve. Just like films on unconventional subjects like LGBT issues, sports films now are capturing the essence of that world, depicting a game's intricacies, weaving a spell around viewers with a deft mix of fact and fiction. Little surprise, therefore, that so many movies are being made of late on sports icons or games that demand more attention than they get.