Mumbai: India women’s ODI captain Mithali Raj, one of India’s greatest batters the country has ever produced, made her international debut in 1999 and holds the record for most runs in women’s cricket in one-dayers. The veteran cricketer’s biopic is forthcoming in which famous bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu will play the role.
Mithali has not been seen in action for professional cricket since November 2019. The name of the biopic is ‘Shabaash Mithu’ which is being directed by Rahul Dholakia, also the composer of the film Raeees.
However, the shooting for the biopic was planned to start earlier but is on hold and postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic situation. Mithali praised Taapsee for her skills of acting, having done some off-beat movies previously but has some words of advice for her.
She believes Taapsee needs to rectify her cricketing skills and cover drive in specific. The 37-year-old expressed that she is popularly known for her cover drive, which she plays in a different way. So, Mithali suggested Taapsee to work on it.
IT'S OFFICIAL… #TaapseePannu to star in the biopic on the life of cricket legend #MithaliRaj… Titled #ShabaashMithu… Directed by Rahul Dholakia [#Raees]… Produced by Viacom18 Studios. pic.twitter.com/Es3jBcxMpA
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) December 3, 2019
“I told her when we met that she would be able to manage everything else but the one area where she needs to put in a lot of hard work in the cover drive. A lot of people know that was my bread and butter and that’s something I have played all through my career. I have a sort of style for my cover drive. So I told her to work on that,” Mithali was quoted as saying to India Today.
Taapsee claimed about the added pressure when Mithali advised her to work on the cover drive. Though she believes that Taapsee will learn it with proper practice, Mithali admitted that they both hit it off quite well since the start and is looking forward to how she trains for the movie.
“She told me ‘straight away you have put so much stress. I don’t know how it would come’. I said ‘I know with training it would definitely come’. As persons, we are poles apart. She is chirpy, she is energetic and I am someone who is quiet,” Mithali further added.
“There was a little tension there when we met for the first time. But I think with a little bit of communication, I guess we hit it off. I am also definitely looking forward to seeing how she is going to train for the movie.”
The right-handed batter will be seen in the upcoming Women’s T20 challenge next month as the captain for team Velocity. The event is ready to kick off from November 4 to 9.
