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Srijit Mukherji on Shabaash Mithu: I told Tapsee that playing cricket is not enough. You’ll have to fall in love

Along with the actress and Mithali Raj, the director met the press at Eden Gardens. 

Srijit Mukherji on Shabaash Mithu: I told Tapsee that playing cricket is not enough. You’ll have to fall in love
Srijit Mukherji, Mithali Raj and Taapsee Pannu at Eden Gardens

Last Updated: 10.42 AM, Jul 10, 2022

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Filmmaker Srijit Mukherji admitted that Taapsee Pannu worked really hard to play the character of Mithali Raj in her biopic, Shabaash Mithu. The director, actor and the cricketing legend were in Kolkata on Saturday to promote the film that will be released on July 15. In a press meet that took place at Eden Gardens, the director spoke about Taapsee’s preparations.

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Talking about the technical side of the actress, Srijit said, “When I first met Tapsee, she offered me tea and I asked for a cricket bat. We started off on a technical note – how to change certain stances and to address other details. The 2017 footage of Mithali was slightly different from other footage. We talked about that and several other things,” the filmmaker said.

Taapsee Pannu at Eden Gardens
Taapsee Pannu at Eden Gardens

Srijit also elaborated on how Taapsee got hooked on cricket. He revealed that the actress used to play cricket even after pack-ups. “I told Tapsee that playing cricket will not suffice. You will have to fall in love with cricket. And that is what she did. Every day at 6 am we used to go. I used to pad up with her as well. And all the bowlers – except a few actors – were state-level players. Tapsee practised with those players. There were no shortcuts or sugar coating. She was injured by a yorker. She faced full-on cricket. And then when she started hitting those cover drives the satisfaction that I saw on her face was priceless. There were days when she continued to play even after the shot was over and the shoot was over,” the director said.

Taapsee also admitted that it was important for her to get the shots right. She thanked her coach Nooshin Al Khadeer who turned her into Mithali Raj on screen.

Produced by Viacom18 Studios, Shabaash Mithu releases on July 15.

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