Shabaash Mithu is more of an underdog story of Women in Blue, not just Mithali Raj: Taapsee Pannu

On June 8, India’s star cricketer Mithali Raj declared her retirement from all forms of international cricket after an illustrious career of almost 23 years. Raj, 39, began her career when she was just 16 years old and went on to become one of the best players in Indian women’s cricket history. Over the course of her 23-year career, she continued to push limits and break records. She served as the game’s ambassador and was one of the main factors contributing to the success of women’s cricket in India.

To celebrate her glorious career, director Srijit Mukherji decided to make a biopic on the cricketer’s life and journey and roped in Taapsee Pannu in the lead role as she portrays the legendary cricketer. Pannu has been a part of many sports-based movies and has portrayed an athlete in quite a few films in her career, and the Mithali Raj biopic, named Shabaash Mithu, is another addition.

In an interview with First Post, Pannu revealed her experience of working on the movie and playing the role of the renowned cricketer as she said that she feels more like an athlete and does not feel like an actor anymore. When asked about how the upcoming biopic emerges as a standout from the other sports-based films, she said:

“Shabaash Mithu is different, there is no personal struggle of the protagonist. You won’t feel that her parents were not supportive, there was no money, and she was poor. that angle is not there. This is more of an underdog story of women in blue, not just Mithali. But the story is being told from Mithali’s lens. She has had a very long career, she has seen anonymity, and women’s cricket was kept in anonymity. For 10 years there is no footage of her career,” she said.

I don’t know of any person who can introduce women’s cricket in India better than Mithali Raj: Pannu

Pannu, who had never lifted a cricket bat in her life, went on to learn the sport in order to play Mithali Raj’s role to perfection. She also revealed how difficult it was to master the shots and play them in Raj’s style for the movie. Mentioning that the movie is based more upon the struggles of the Indian women’s cricket team and not just the journey of Raj, she added:

“It is not a biopic of a personal struggle. It is more about the team rightly asking for acknowledgment, attention, and love and that this cricket-loving nation has been overlooking them. That is the whole idea behind making this film on her especially because she has been the skipper, the torch-bearer of this big change, the one who has led India to World Cup finals and has had the longest career in ODI across genders in the world, so I don’t know of any person who can introduce women’s cricket in India better than Mithali Raj.”