Taapsee Pannu: "Men are either dismissive of the woman holding a bat, or they want to put her down"

Taapsee Pannu has been undergoing training in various sports for a long time now, and she has been a part of several biopics too. But the one that we are eagerly waiting for in Shabaash Mithu, which will be based on the life of Mithali Raj. The actress has been training for the film for quite some time, but got a break when the director changed from Rahul Dholakia to Srijit Mukherjee. Now, the actress has opened up about how she is approaching the film with a clean slate and also opened up about how men are always dismissive of women holding the bat.

Talking to Mid Day, Taapsee opened up about the criticisms that may come her way for the film and said, “Cricket bat aadmiyon ki jaagir hoti hai,” she jokes. “When I hold a bat while playing a friendly match, I can sense men going, ‘I will show her now.’ They are either dismissive of the woman holding a bat, or they want to put her down. If I face this as an actor, I can’t imagine what Mithali has faced through her journey. It must’ve been an arduous journey for women’s cricket to reach where it is today.”

Taapsee, who trained for six months, feels, “Had I trained for a year, I would have [perfected] Mithali’s gait. We can’t overburden a woman-led film; it has restrictions. I hope our stories change things for the next generation.” She also opened up about working with Srijit Mukherjee and said, “I am always in a dilemma whether to get the game right, or focus on her mannerisms and body language on the field. But for [Raj], the message matters the most. Now, Srijit wants me to learn things, which I hadn’t as per Rahul’s brief. He wants me to tweak a few mannerisms. I have washed off the previous memories, and am viewing it as base training for the film. Now, we are getting into further detailing of the game.”

We are eagerly waiting to see Taapsee bring Mithali Raj's life to screen, and hope that the film is wrapped up soon.