With a common goal of equal recognition for women in their career, much like her current on-screen avatar as Mithali Raj, actor Taapsee Pannu says she plunged into her hardest role of the former Indian women바카라s cricket team captain in the biopic 바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라.
Regarded as one of the greatest female cricketers ever, the legendary Indian batter redefined the sport, usually referred to as 'the gentleman's game', in the country. Â
Pannu, known for films 바카라Pink바카라, 바카라Naam Shabana바카라, 바카라Mulk바카라, and 바카라Thappad바카라, said her and Raj's attempt at making their respective professions a level-playing field for women was the binding force behind the upcoming film.
바카라In our country, there are two religions 바카라 cricket and films. If you call yourself a cricket-loving nation then you should love women바카라s cricket equally, you are not just men바카라s cricket-loving nation. The cricket should matter and not the gender.
바카라Same way, the gender of the protagonist shouldn바카라t matter. It should be about how the film is. You do pre-booking of a movie if it is a male protagonist but wait for reviews for a female protagonist. That is where I connected to her,바카라 the 34-year-old actor told PTI in an interview.
Pannu said she felt "embarrassed" as she was unaware about the former Indian skipper, her journey and achievements, till Raj expressed her displeasure over comparison to their male counterparts in cricket.
On the eve of the 2017 ICC Women's World Cup, Raj was asked who her favourite men's cricketer was between India and Pakistan teams.
In a sharp retort, she had asked, 바카라Do you ask a male cricketer who their favourite female player is?바카라
It is a similar scenario in the film industry, pointed out Pannu, adding that female actors too are often asked these questions.
바카라I have been answering this question for over 10 years. 'Who is your favourite male star? Who do you want to be paired opposite?'
바카라I hardly see the male stars answering the (same) question. I felt this will be my connecting thread to her character and from there I will build whatever I need to, to be her,바카라 the actor added.
Directed by Srijit Mukherji and written by Priya Aven, the upcoming film is a coming-of-age story of women바카라s cricket in India as witnessed by the most successful woman cricketer. It will chronicle the highs and lows, setbacks and moments of euphoria of Raj바카라s life.
Last month, Raj ended her glorious 23 year-long run after amassing 7805 ODI runs in 232 matches at an average of over 50. She also scored 2364 runs in 89 T20Is, as well as 699 runs in 12 Tests, including a century and four half-centuries.
From 바카라Soorma바카라, 바카라Saandh Ki Aankh바카라, 바카라Rashmi Rocket바카라 to 바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라, Pannu has become the face of sports-based films.
The actor said she took up these films as the stories challenged her and with every movie, the scale got bigger.
바카라In all these films my effort has gone beyond doing that film and learning that sport has been up after every film. After 바카라Rashmi Rocket바카라, I had to work harder on this film to learn a sport from scratch. And it has gone bigger for me scale wise,바카라 she said.
Pannu said she has been offered more sports and action films but she rejected all of them. Reason: she wants to up her game.
She had boarded 바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라 in 2018 when production banner Viacom18 Studios had acquired the rights to make a movie on Raj and had the research material but there was no script.
The actor was required to commit to the film and dedicate time to learning the game of cricket, she added.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It is probably going to be the hardest I have worked on the film but then that바카라s the fun part."
Pannu said she had started training for cricket while filming of 바카라Looop Lapeta바카라, which released on Netflix in February. Three months before 바카라Looop Lapeta바카라 came out, 바카라Rashmi Rocket바카라 had released, a film in which she had played an athlete.
Having worked on these two films, Pannu said she was at her fittest when she dived into 바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라 and only had to learn the techniques of cricket.
The actor undertook lessons in cricket for six months under four coaches, including former India cricketer Nooshin-Al-Khadeer and physiotherapist Akanksha.
"My introduction to Mithali바카라s playing techniques or what she does and how she felt, was through my trainers,바카라 she said, adding, she did not meet Raj in person during filming as she was actively playing cricket then.
Recalling her meeting with the former cricketer before she began work on the film, Pannu said they are "diametrically" opposite as people.
As an actor, Pannu further said she had to restrain her performance as Raj is not an expressive person.
바카라It is not that I see varied expressions on her face, like she is feeling happy or is thinking, so you can바카라t gauge it. I had to unlearn. My range of performance is so minimal in terms of expressing, she is not a very expressive person. In two hours, we had to tell her story spanning over 30 years.바카라
바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라, which marks Pannu바카라s first theatrical release after 2020's 바카라Thappad바카라, said she is anxious about the audience's reaction to the film.
바카라I value audience reaction and opinion. I never say that I am an actor and I have done my job and that I could do only this much. For me it matters how they will react and that바카라s why how the box office reacts also matters,바카라 she added. Â
Also starring seasoned actor Vijay Raaz, 바카라Shabaash Mithu바카라 will be released in theatres on July 15.
[With Inputs From PTI]
