Shabaash Mithu: Taapsee Pannu Confesses She Was Unaware of Women’s Cricket Team in India

Actress Taapsee Pannu’s sports biopic Shabaash Mithu that delineates the life of former Test and ODI captain of the India women’s national cricket team, Mithali Raj is slated to release today, July 15. The movie would depict the ups and downs and moments of glory in Mithali’s life. Ahead of the film’s release, Taapsee confessed she wasn’t aware of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team until 2017.

Speaking with Filmfare, Tapsee said, “I must confess that I only found out that we also have a women’s cricket team in 2017. I got to know about it so late and that too because of a statement she made in the media when she was asked who her favourite male cricketer was. When I read that statement, I got to know that she is the captain of our women’s team and that we even have a team. I am embarrassed about the fact that I did not know that we had a team before that.”

The sports drama directed by Srijit Mukerji would also feature Vijay Raaz (as Mithali’s coach) and Mumtaz Sorcar (as ace cricket Jhulan Goswami) alongside known faces like Brijendra Kala and Devdarshini. The film would also mark Taapsee Pannu’s first theatrical release after her much critically acclaimed Anubhav Sinha’s directorial Thappad in 2020.

The actress has also gone on the record to state that Shabaash Mithu was made on the budget of an actor’s salary. In an interview with News18, Taapsee said, “My entire film’s budget is equal to a male actor’s salary. So the disparity is still huge. We have a marathon to run, but I’m glad that we are moving in the right direction and we have at least taken a few steps towards equality.”

Besides this film, Taapsee Pannu has got quite a number of projects under her belt. The actress would be seen next in Ajay Bahl’s horror-thriller Blurr which is an official remake of a Spanish Film titled Julia’s Eyes. She would also star opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Rajkumar Hiran’s Dunki.