Shabaash Mithu (2022) Cast:
Taapsee Pannu, Vijay Raaz, Inayat Verma, Kasturi Jagnam, Brijenda Kala, Mumtaz Sorcar, Devadarshini, Sameer Dharmadhikari, Nirali Oza, Aditi Aryan, Priya Kumari, Ramya Suresh, Ramya Suresh
Release Date:
The movie was released on 15th July 2022 in theatres and has a box office collection of 2.14 crore till 21st July.
Shabaash Mithu (2022) Review: Story, Performance & Analysis
The story started with a team meeting where Mithali Raj(Taapsee Pannu) and her team were seen getting humiliated by the CIA chief(Brijenda Kala) and other officials. An office clerk was asked to name five women cricketers but he failed to recall even one. The meeting was set to inform the authorities of the basic requirements women’s team had, like more matches, their names on the jersey, etc.
We were taken to the flashback of a young Mithali Raj (Inayat Verma) who was a brilliant student as well as a good Bharat Natyam dancer. One of her friends Noori(Kasturi Jagnam) loves cricket but they were not allowed to play cricket with boys. Noori took Mithali with her to play cricket that was the moment when Mithali found an interest in the game.
She understood the game and always performs brilliantly while playing with her friends. Noori considers herself Vinod Kambli and Mithali as Sachin Tendulkar. While they were playing, a group of boys arrived and told them to leave the ground then Noori throws the challenge to them to out Mithali first. During that time Mithali’s talent came to the notice of cricket coach Sampath Sir (Vijay Raaz). He went to Mithali’s house to convince her parents about coaching Mithali as well as Noorie.
A grown-up Mithali got selected for the National team and then becomes the captain of the Indian Women’s Team. The struggle she had during these days was quite visible. She was humiliated by her team members, and by the authority, but she never loses her focus.
After the meeting with the CIA chief, she returned home and tried to keep herself out of the cricket. Noorie came for the first time after her marriage to meet her and to encourage re-joining the team. Mithali felt cricket needs her, the team needs her and she re-joined and led the team to two world cup finals with many other glorious achievements in women’s cricket. Before retiring from International cricket she made the record of having the longest career in the history of cricket.
The best part about Shabaash Mithu is the childhood days of Mithali and the credit should go to two brilliant performers Inayat Verma and Kasturi Jagnam. Especially Kasturi Jagnam as young Noorie was simply outstanding. Their friendship and the moments they spent together in dance class as well as in the training center were the sweetest ones.
Taapsee Pannu impresses again with a solid performance as Mithali Raj. Matching Mithali’s batting style, and footwork while portraying the character was certainly not an easier task but she did it, and with utmost perfection. Pink, Badla, Saand ki Aankh, Haseen Dilruba, Thappad, Rashmi Rocket, and Loop Lapeta are some of the movies where she has delivered good performances consistently.
Vijay Raaz was convincing as coach Sampath Sir. Over the years he has done many challenging characters and portrayed them at ease. We have seen recently some of his top-notch performances in Gangubai Kathiawadi, Sherni, Abhay 3, Suraj pe mangal bhari, Dream Girl, Lootcase, Bala, Gulabo Sitabo, Gully Boy, etc.
Mumtaz Sorcar as Jhulan Goswami, Devadarshini as Mithali’s mother Leela Raj, and Sameer Dharmadhikari as Mithali’s father Dorai Raj also justified their characters.
Director Srijit Mukherji certainly did his best to make this biopic an extraordinary one. Still, he missed one area by not focusing too much on making the matches look more exciting. If we compare the kind of excitement we got during the matches in the 83 movie, then Shabaash Mithu was coming nowhere close to that excitement, also the way a few scenes were portrayed does not give a realistic feel. But his effort towards showing the inspiring story of Mithali Raj should be appreciated.
Final Words
Shabaash Mithu is a sports drama based on the life of the former Indian cricketer Mithali Raj. A few good performances and an inspiring journey could be enough reasons for a one-time watch.
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