Cricket is not a man’s game: Rani Mukherjee

NEW DEHLI: Bollywood actor Rani Mukherjee who was last seen hitting boundary shots in Dil Bole Haddipa, says cricket is not just a man’s game.

“Since childhood, girls are always discouraged to play sports and are told that cricket is a man’s game, which is just an illusion under which people live,” Mukherjee told reporters on Thursday at the launch of the  docu-drama Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies.

“After being a part of it and knowing the nitty-gritty of it, what I have gathered is that cricket is not a man’s game - it is not about power but is all about technique,” she added.

Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies is directed by Sunil Yash Kalra. The documentary-drama focuses on the women’s cricket team of India. “The film is not just a tale of disparities among men and women in the cricketing arena, but a story of the triumph of women’s cricket despite the disparities that prevail,” said Kalra.

Researched, scripted and filmed by Kalra, it captures the camaraderie between former captain Anjum Chopra and current skipper Jhulan Goswami, and former vice-captain Rumeli Dhar and present vice-captain Amita Sharma.

The 27-minute film was shot over a span of four years in South Africa, Australia, England, West Indies and India and includes footage from various matches as well as even from the girls’ changing room.

Mukherjee, however, expressed her disappointment regarding the title of the film. “The concept, the ideology comes across very positively but the name is disappointing. The tag of ‘Poor Cousins’ brings a negative vibe along with it. It could have been Better Half of Million Dollar Babies.”

The official poster of the film was unveiled by Chak De India writer Jaideep Sahni, Rani Mukherjee and former captain Anjum Chopra along with director Sunil Kalra and producer Bava Mahdood.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2010.