'Shabaash Mittu' review: Sidelines cricket for emotions

Shaabash Mittu

Hindi (Theatres)

Director: Srijit Mukherji

Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Vijay Raaz, Mumtaz Sorcar

2.5/5

We have now got used to Bollywood biopics sidelining sports for melodrama and jingoism. ‘Shabaash Mittu’, by Srijit Mukherji, isn’t as loud as some of its predecessors. But the sheer disregard to cricketing details makes it a halfhearted take on the life of the first icon of Indian women’s cricket.

One wonders why filmmakers belittle people’s intelligence that they feed them with so much emotional drama over interesting information. Indians are cricket fanatics and stat freaks. Yet, what we get from ‘Shabaash Mittu’ is overlong portions on Mithali Raj’s childhood, her friendship which helped her pick up the sport and the struggles of a woman trying to realise her ambitions in a man’s world.

Sure, the journey is as important as the destination. But there is nothing spectacular in Srijit’s writing that the scenes play out in banal fashion. You predict them with ease. Where ‘83’ scores over this film is in the dialogue department. It kept you entertained throughout with its street-smart wordplay that gelled with the sport.

Mithali, armed with a solid technique and admirable mental toughness, was known for her ability to anchor innings. That explains her hunger for runs across formats. But the film shows her as an aggressive batter, always going after boundaries and big hits.

‘Shabaash Mittu’ also doesn’t get into the mind of Mithali the captain. It was she who batted for the gifted Smriti Mandhana’s place in the side, when the latter suffered an injury scare ahead of the Women’s World T20. The film doesn’t try to understand how she put together a team that had played a fearless brand of cricket in the 2017 women’s world cup and fell agonisingly short of the title.

Also, it would be stupid to expect the film to be objective and talk about the strike-rate criticism faced by Mithali towards the end of her career. It conveniently ignores her famous fall out with coach Ramesh Powar during the 2018 World T20.

The filmmaking is shoddy. The big moments, like Mithali replacing Mamatha Maben in the national camp or the speciality around her India debut is cut presented in hurried fashion.

‘Shabaash Mittu’ is moving in two places: one when it shows how women cricketers convert their struggles to strength. And when Mithali fights to get women cricket its due respect. This is watchable thanks to Taapsee’s understated performance.

The film doesn’t belittle Mithali’s inspiring life. It’s just that it’s an ordinary reflection of an extraordinary career which set several records.