Shabaash Mithu Movie Review: Taapsee Plays Well But Doesn’t Win This Match

Shabaash Mithu Movie Review: Taapsee Pannu makes each character habitable with a sensible panache. And that’s in all probability the very best factor about her performing expertise. In Shabaash Mithu, a biopic, she performs the function of one of the celebrated cricketers on the planet – India’s Mithali Raj – and makes an attempt to remain true to Mithu’s journey from Hyderabad to the Lord’s cricket floor in England.Also Read – Taapsee Pannu on Taking 10 Years to Work With Shah Rukh Khan in Dunki: Mere Paas Koi Inside Access Nahi Hai | Exclusive

Directed by national-award-winning filmmaker Srijit Mukherji, Shabaash Mithu narrates Mithali’s journey from a Bharatanatyam dancer as a baby, to a pricey pal, a sister, a daughter, a faithful participant and the youngest captain within the historical past of worldwide cricket. But does it stay true to what it guarantees to point out? Does the story do justice to a nationwide hero who symbolises the evolution of ladies’s cricket in India? And does it match the prowess of the actor it stars because the protagonist? Also Read – Exclusive: Mithali Raj Reveals Her Biggest Achievement Off The Field

Shabaash Mithu opens with a close-up shot of Hyderabad’s Charminar and we see Taapsee as Mithali for the primary time – panting and coming to the phrases with the shoddy actuality of ladies’s cricket in India – the place ladies are given males’s jerseys after the administration decides to do the cost-cutting, they’re assigned to play 2-3 matches in a 12 months, and the place they don’t have any ‘pehchaan.’ Mithali goals to alter all of that, and extra. As a unbelievable participant who turned the youngest cricketer to play worldwide cricket, there’s a lot that Mithu achieved on the sector. However, the movie limits her capabilities and her achievements. Also Read – From Kangana Ranaut to Taapsee Pannu: 5 Actresses With Curly Hair in Bollywood And How They Flaunt Them With Every Look

Shabaash Mithu appears to have been divided into three elements: the childhood the place she meets her greatest pal and discovers her fascination for cricket, the youthful days the place she struggles to suit into the academy as a rookie participant, and the time when she works onerous to steer clear of the sport however realises that cricket is her solely calling. One factor that the movie clearly establishes is that nice gamers aren’t born nice however they’re educated to simply accept nothing lower than greatness. The movie’s coronary heart seems to be in the proper place. Only this time it simply doesn’t show to be sufficient. In the remainder of the departments, the movie falls flat.

Shabaash Mithu is like the identical match that Mithali performed with all her glory and energy however couldn’t win – a missed alternative that’s. The story and the incidents that it weaves, don’t make a coherent package deal when put collectively. In extra locations than one, the movie appears a tad bit damaged and in another locations, it appears to have been weaved in haste. That’s not probably the most worrisome half although. Shabaash Mithu underestimates you as a viewer and retains you trapped within the melodrama greater than Mithali’s cricketing moments. Its goal in displaying her battle in opposition to patriarchy dissolves the very second you see her being targetted by her fellow ladies within the academy – a element that would have been averted to serve the bigger goal of beating out misogyny from the sector. A scene within the film incorporates a British journalist asking Mithali about her favorite male cricketer. A livid however sleek Mithali asks him to make a male cricketer reply ‘who is your favourite female cricketer.’ In one other world, even the one ridden with Bollywood’s cliche type of storytelling, it will have made for a strong scene. But, on this movie, it supplies a caricaturish tone to the story the place the feelings look pressured and scenes, half-baked.

Mithali has had a privileged childhood the place for the longest time, till she misplaced the 2017 World Cup match in England, her ‘Have Not’ checklist remained empty. Director Srijit Mukherji retains that second in his movie. He additionally establishes Mithali’s bond along with her coach Sampath sir (performed brilliantly by Vijay Raaz) by having repeated closeups of the Rudraksha chain that proudly sits on her neck. But, even with all these endearing moments at his disposal, the director fails to group all of them to present a memorable movie for the ages. The saddest half is that Mithali’s life is a minimum of a filmy story itself however when it truly comes out as a movie, it makes you realise that one thing’s lacking at each step of the way in which. Add to it the premature songs operating within the background and also you get the right recipe for ruining a heroic story in an try and make it look extra commercially interesting.

Taapse and Vijay’s performances save the day however not for lengthy. In one of many good scenes proper after Mithali faces her first heartbreak, her coach says, “Ye maidan zindagi ki tarah hai, yahan sab dard chhote hain bas khelna bada hai.” Well… provided that the writers may play effectively!

Stars: 2 1/2