Mithali raj best friend

Also read: Shabaash Mithu trailer: Taapsee Pannu is convincing as Mithali Raj Shabaash Mithu stars Taapsee Pannu as former Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj. The The first, and arguably most memorable, leg of the film introduces us to a young The loud pitch of Srijit Mukherji’s film announces itself from the very first moments. Srijit makes films that scream at you (Begum Jaan). Every emotional beat is stated, restated, and underlined. But during these early portions of the narrative, the sentiment shines through the screeching. I liked that Priya Aven’s screenplay keeps the cricket secondary and instead focuses on the touching friendship between two girls, for a considerable stretch. Inaayat Verma plays a young Mithali Raj in Shabaash Mithu. But, of course, before long we get our time jump. Seven years pass and Mithali has now grown into Taapsee Pannu. (For much of this film, Taapsee is supposed to be a 16-year-old which you don’t buy into even for a second. But it holds if you forget that detail). Mithali gets selected for the national camp, but her celebration is short-lived as she realises it’s not all she hoped it would be. For one, she’s not exactly welcomed by her fellow players who see her as young and inexperienced. She also learns the hard way that finally making it to the big leagues of women’s cricket isn’t the culmination of a struggle, but merely the beginning of one. The start of a lifelong battle to be seen, acknowledged and taken seriously. I...

While Mithali's bat hardly remained silent on the field, the cricketer herself didn't delve much into her personal life. Despite the limelight and media attention, Mithali kept remained stuck to the basics and kept doing her job on the field. Off it, however, she continues to baffle fans over her decision to remain single. Mithali, at the age of 39, hasn't gotten married. While there have not been too many conversations regarding her relationship status, in 2018, the iconic cricketer had opened up on the decision. When asked if the decision to get married ever crossed her mind, Mithali said that it used to when she was quite younger.

In terms of longevity, Mithali's 23-year-old international career is also awe-inspiring and rivals Sachin Tendukar's 24-year-run at the top of his game. Shantha Rangaswamy, who led India to its first ever Test win in 1976, had no hesitation in calling Mithali the best female batter the country has produced. Mithali began her career long after Rangaswamy played her last game for India but she tracked her career closely as a commentator, selector and a "fan" of her artistry. "When you talk about batters with the most sound technique. There are only two names that pop into the head: Sunil Gavaskar and Mithali. "I was commentating during the 2000 World Cup in New Zealand. I saw her bat in the game against South Africa and I was amazed with the technique she possessed. Fellow commentators described it as 'poetry in motion'. Another former India captain Anjum Chopra, who was a part of the Indian team alongside Mithali on the memorable tour of England in 1999, said there was little doubt about the talent of the 16-year-old even though she did not have the best of times on her maiden trip to the UK. "She did not do well against England in the two ODIs but in the nets, she was very pleasing to the eye. When we came back, she did well. We had also heard about her performances on the domestic tour, so we all knew about her rare talent. "And by the time I stopped playing the game in 2012, Mithali had already become a star. Then the watershed moment came in 2017 (when India reached the...

In an early sequence in Shabaash Mithu , a biopic of the Indian cricketer Mithali Raj, a young girl dares to defy conventions. She pees like boys of her age (while standing in a public place). She plays a local cricket match and humiliates a boy, then hits him. Short hair, flamboyant nature, fierce tongue: a little ball of fire hurtling down a hill. Her worried mother, wanting to make her ‘feminine’, enrols her in a Bharatanatyam class. We don’t know her name yet, but it’s not hard to guess. She must be Mithali, and this is her origin story. In the class, the teacher calls out another student – a tender bundle of joy, immersed in dance, her future best friend – “Mithali”. It’s an excellent opener that illuminates, entertains, and stumps: that you don’t necessarily need to be a ‘man’ to excel in a traditionally masculine field, that how identity itself – whether created or imposed – can be a prison. The other girl is Noorie who teaches Mithali cricket. The protagonists of most Bollywood biopics fall under two broad categories: heroes or victims. Mithali (Taapsee Pannu, a sincere and restrained performance), in Srijit Mukherji’s telling, is first a victim. Her elder brother, Mithun, wanting to be a cricketer and eventually getting overshadowed, derides her. So does her grandmother. We then meet the Indian team captain, Sukumari (Shilpa Marwaha), at a local training session, who (of course) throws shade at Mithali without any reason. This needless hostility is off-putting but...