Shabaash Mithu review : Taapsee hits a boundary as Mithali Raj

By Shachi Chaturvedi

Directed by: Srijit Mukherji

Rating: 3/5

Runtime: 2 hours 42 minutes

Cast: Taapsee Pannu (Mithali Raj), Mumtaz Sorcar (Jhulan Goswami), Vijay Raaz (Mithali’s coach), Brijendra Kala and Devadarshini (Mithali’s mother)

Synopsis

Shabaash Mithu is an Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama. The film is based on the life of Mithali Raj, the former Test and One-Day International captain of India’s women’s national cricket team.

Review:

The flick is not your typical biography about a player’s fight to gain success. Rather, it is the narrative of Mithali Raj’s fight for equal rights and opportunities for female players.

There is no denying that Taapsee Pannu is a wonderful actress, but what surprised me was Inayat Verma’s performance. In the film, the child played a younger Mithali, and her great acting and appropriate characterization helped to create the mood. Vijay Raaj, with his unique delivery of the role, has nailed it as Mithali’s coach.

The child artist who played Noorie did some commendable job initially as audiences are misled into thinking that Noorie is the main protagonist until Mithali is introduced in a completely different character shade- of an ace Bharatnatyam student.

When it comes to Taapsee’s performance, she sought to display all of the emotions with very few expressions while also nicely balancing the real-life Mithali’s style. As previously noted, the film is not your typical biography, which makes it worthwhile to see.

Concerning the film’s music. The movie had a lot of songs, which made them look much more than they needed to. Although music is indeed the finest way to express feelings, too much music might irritate the listener.

In terms of technical factors, there wasn’t much to remark on, but Taapsee’s performance was commendable. A cricket fan viewing a movie and noting the actor doing the correct moves demonstrates the actor’s preparation and sheer dedication toward work.
The kid artist who portrayed Noorie performed an outstanding job at first since the audience is led to believe that Noorie is the major protagonist until Mithali appears in an entirely other character shade- of an ace Bharatnatyam student.

It is important to note that the film also contains some very interesting scenes that will keep you glued to your seat, such as Noorie and Mithali playing and learning cricket with their Bharatnatyam classmates, all dressed in ‘ghagras,’ or Mithu about to challenge a group of boys to a game of cricket.

Dialogues such as “abhi to tere nam ka flames Khel Raha Hoga” and the informal discussion amongst the women’s team players kept the drama element alive.

However, the line-up of events was good yet the second half of the movie seems too crowded with a lane of events that somehow messed with the viewer’s head.

Final Verdict:

We all desire equality, and there is a pressing need to achieve it across genders and platforms, and this film is an epic example of women’s battle for basic rights. People, in my opinion, should watch it once since it is a film that will not make you regret purchasing tickets.