Shabaash Mithu: 23 years of Woman in Blue

Team 'Shabaash Mithu' was in Jaipur for the film's promotion and to celebrate women cricket in all blue and bloom.
'Shabaash Mithu' is a sports biopic based on the life of legendary cricketer Mithali Raj. It follows her story from being a newbie to becoming one of the towering personalities in the game of cricket.

Commenting on her Cricket journey, Mithali said, "I was 10 years old when I started playing in an academy which was an all 'boys' academy. Most of the academies only enrolled boys and there were no spots for girls." She said the biggest change she has witnessed in her journey is that now all cricket academies have girls.

Further she said, "Before the BCCI, the women's team faced enormous challenges. But now things have changed for women pursuing Cricket careers. Hopefully we will soon start a women's IPL team as well."

When asked about how Raj reacted to the biopic being made on her journey, she said, "I thought it was a joke..I couldn't grasp it, it was all unexpected for me. But when I got a hang around and got to know Taapsee is playing my character, I was really elated. She learned and trained so well in just 2 months, I am really impressed…the hard work she has put in, is commendable!"

Taapsee, on portraying Mithali Raj, said that when the film was offered, there was no script, just some research material. She said that the team wanted her commitment to the role first.

"I was pretty excited and readily said yes. But what was to follow was the excruciating training..because I never held a bat in my hand, ever. And I didn't want to cheat my audience. So I decided to give my one hundred percent as there was no other option. I just wished I had learned to play cricket earlier."

Taapsee also talked about the film being more than just a fancy biopic. "The movie is so much more than that. Because it is not just centred around Mithali but the struggles of the entire team," she stated.