There Is A Lot Of Pressure To Play Her On Screen: Taapsee Pannu On Mithali Raj Biopic

Taapsee Pannu on Mithali Raj biopic: Taapsee Pannu will soon be seen playing cricket ace Mithali Raj on celluloid.

Just two weeks before she officially steps into Raj’s shoes for the shooting of her upcoming biopic titled, Shaabash Mithu, Pannu spoke to TOI. “I have lost count of Mithali’s landmark achievements,” exclaimed Pannu, talking about the Indian skipper, who on Sunday became the first woman cricketer to score 7,000 runs in ODIs during the fourth match against South Africa Women.

The biopic Shabaash Mithu is helmed by Rahul Dholakia. Pannu added, “Almost every time that she steps on to the pitch, she achieves something of value, something of worth. She’s conducted her career in such a way that it’s punctuated with so many lovely accomplishments all along.” Raj, who is the leading run-scorer in women's ODIs, added another landmark to her name last week when became the first Indian batswoman to score 10,000 international runs.

She says the stakes are high now even though “It was already daunting to play her on the big screen, and now, the stakes are even higher. She holds a record for her 50s. And now, she has surpassed the 10,000-run mark. She is one of the most experienced women cricketers we have right now. There is a lot of pressure to play her on screen. It was already at its maximum when she achieved this high tally.”

Read What Makes Mithali Raj A Legend?

“I have always been asked who’s your favourite male cricketer but you should ask them who their favourite female cricketer is.” The statement that made every cricket lover pause n introspect that do they love the game or the gender playing it.@M_Raj03 you are a ‘Game Changer’ pic.twitter.com/2VlxYpXmSM

— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) January 29, 2020

Raj is playing her 213th ODI. The 38-year-old has scored 54 half-centuries - a record among women - and seven centuries. Here Are Five Great Knocks From Mithali Raj’s Cricketing Career

"A biopic has to have a finite start and end to the story. So, we have chosen a milestone in her career and locked the script in such a way that it’s believable and probably, even on expected lines that she would go on to achieve what she recently has. Mithali is such a consistent and legendary performer," Pannu said.

Raj debuted against Ireland women in 1999 and is still breaking records.

Feature Image Credit: Taapsee Pannu / Twitter