Shabaash Mithu

The film based on the life of former Test and ODI captain of the India women's national cricket team, Mithali Raj, stars Taapsee Pannu in title role. It chronicles ups and downs and moments of glory of Mithali's life. The film was released on 15 July 2022. It received mixed to positive reviews from critics but was a major box-office disaster, grossing just under a tenth of its budget at the box office.

Shabaash Mithu
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Srijit Mukherji
Written by	Priya Aven Vijay Maurya(dialogues)
Based on	Mithali Raj
Produced by	Ajit Andhare
Starring	Taapsee Pannu
Cinematography	Sirsha Ray
Edited by	A. Sreekar Prasad
Music by	Salvage Audio Collective
Production companies	Viacom18 Studios Colosceum Media
Distributed by	Viacom18 Studios
Release date	15 July 2022 (2022-07-15)
Running time	156 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹48 crore
Box office	est. ₹2.89 crore

Mithali Raj is former Test and ODI captain of women's national cricket team. She led India to finals of 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup.

The film based on her life chronicles the events of her life's journey in the world of women cricket. It presents her struggles and euphoric rise in the women cricket.

Development

After the 2017 Women's Cricket World Cup, Viacom 18 Motion Pictures acquired the rights to make a feature film on Raj's life. She said, "Hoping that this movie inspires more people, especially young girls to take up sports as a career."

The biopic was planned to shoot in 2019. Raj said, "I think Priyanka Chopra will be a great choice (to play me in the biopic). Our personalities match a lot. I am not a movie buff, so I'd love the experts to do their job." Finally it was Taapsee Pannu who was chosen to play the role of Mithali Raj in the biopic named as Shabaash Mithu, to be directed by Rahul Dholakia in 2020.

Preparation and training

On 3 December 2019, coinciding with the birthday of Mithali Raj, the film was finalized with Taapsee Pannu in the title role and Rahul Dholakia as director. In January 2021 Pannu posted her training photos from 3 December 2019, 29 January 2020 and 27 January 2021. In March 2021, Taapsee Pannu again posted photos of her preparation and training for the film. She trained under Nooshin Al Khadeer, a former cricket player and Mithali Raj's friend. The film earlier was anticipated to be released on 5 February 2021 under direction of Rahul Dholakia, but filming was delayed due to COVID-19.

In June Srijit Mukherji replaced Rahul Dholakia as director of the film due to change of schedule.

Filming

Principal photography began on 5 April 2021 after being delayed due to COVID-19. Filming was finally wrapped up on 9 November. The film was shot on Lord's Cricket Ground in London, and across domestic and international locations to bring real feel of actual events that happened in Mithali's life.

The music of the film is composed by Amit Trivedi, Salvage Audio Collective and Charan. Lyrics are written by Swanand Kirkire, Kausar Munir and Charan. The background score is composed by Salvage Audio Collective.

Theatrical

On 3 December coinciding with birthday of Mithali Raj releasing a teaser poster the producer announced the release date of the film as 4 February 2022. The date clashed with Rajkummar Rao's comedy film Badhaai Do, which was postponed to 11 February. Subsequently the film was not released and finally it was released on 15 July 2022.

Festival

In 2023, the film was selected in 'Game On' section at the 29th Kolkata International Film Festival and will be screened on 8 December 2023.

Home media

The film digitally streamed on both Voot and Netflix in Hindi and dubbed versions of Tamil and Telugu languages from 12 August 2022.

Box office

Shabaash Mithu earned ₹0.40 crore at the domestic box office on its opening day, ₹0.55 crore on the second day and ₹0.70 crore on third day.

As of 23 July 2022^[update], the film grossed ₹2.52 crore (US$320,000) in India and ₹0.24 crore (US$30,000) overseas, for a worldwide gross collection of ₹2.76 crore (US$350,000). Film was declared disaster at box office after end of its theatrical run.

Critical response

Anindita Mukherjee of India Today rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Shabaash Mithu is a film that will definitely not turn around Bollywood's fate in the era of South domination, but it surely moves you". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "As a fond tribute to a cricketer who transformed the fortunes of women in India's most popular sport, it puts just enough on the scoreboard not be dismissed as an innings without substance". Sonil Dedhia of News 18 rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "The film has sincerity and has been crafted with care. It deserves to be watched for the journey of a woman, who is responsible for the incredible rise of Indian Women's cricket in the last two decades". Rachana Dubey of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote " The movie doesn't amply showcase those edge-of-the-seat, nail-biting moments that would have unfolded in her life, especially during the 2017 world cup". Himesh Mankad of Pinkvilla rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Shabaash Mithu deserves to be watched to witness the journey of a woman, who is responsible for the incredible rise of Indian Women's cricket in the last two decades - Mithali Raj". Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote "Taapsee Pannu shines in a film that has no space for nuance. Director Srijit Mukerji ensures everything is underlined in this sports drama". Bollywood Hungama rated the film with 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "On the whole, Shabaash Mithu tells an inspiring tale of one of the greatest cricket legends in the world. At the box office, it has the potential to draw in audiences, especially in urban centres. It also deserves tax-free status."