Rashmi Rocket: Tapsee Pannu starrer gets 12 million views in just over a week

The Tapsee Pannu-starrer sports film Rashmi Rocket is flying high with positive critics’ reviews and warm reception by cine buffs across platforms. The film that premiered on October 15 on ZEE5 has gathered more than 12 million views already.

Helmed by Akarsh Khurana, the film stars Taapsee Pannu, Priyanshu Painyuli, Abhishek Banerjee and Supriya Pathak in key roles. The as-of-yet lesser-known concern of gender testing for female athletes is the central theme of the plot. Taapsee plays a young girl in Kutch who is a brilliant sprinter. She has a bright future awaiting her, as she runs straight to victory in the competitions and brings laurels for her country. But she is compelled to take a gender test due to her high testosterone levels following which, she is unfairly banned from sports altogether. Rashmi might now fight it out for her dignity as a sportsperson and a woman in a legal battle against the Indian athletics association.

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The cast has received praise from the critics and the audience alike for their good performances. ZEE5, along with Ronnie Screwvala’s RSVP & Mango People Media, has produced the film, which is co-written by Kanika Dhillon.

Manish Kalra, chief business officer, ZEE5 India, has issued a statement saying that ‘presenting quality content’ to the viewers has been the focus of the streaming platform all along. And in that, Rashmi Rocket makes for a “thoughtful and entertaining movie” that brings to fore ‘the archaic practice of gender testing in sports.” Kalra expressed his happiness at the outpouring of love for the film. He traced the significance of the film in its two-pronged merit of not just being a sports film with a relevant issue, but also simultaneously being a story about women who have to fight it out at home and in the public realm every single day. “This movie has definitely sparked a positive conversation and we hope that it propels the movement in the right direction, as is necessary,” he said.

Rashmi Rocket is currently streaming on ZEE5.