Akarsh Khurana‘s latest directorial venture titled Rashmi Rocket is setting goals for women, especially in the sports field.
Starring Taapsee Pannu, this film is inspired by the story of sprinter Dutee Chand, who was disqualified after winning a race due to the high amount of testosterone in her body.
Director: Akarsh Khurana
Run Time: 2h 15min
Ratings: 4.5/5
Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Priyanshu Painyuli, Abhishek Banerjee, Supriya Pathak
Storyline
Hailing from a Kutch village in India, Rashmi Vira is a strong spirited woman with an exceptional talent for the tracks. Soon, this talent becomes her passion and Rashmi sets her target to compete in the World Championships. Despite her wanting to give it her all and represent India, it’s the sport (or rather the politics in the sport) that turns its back on her.
After a successful start, Rashmi is suddenly called in for a series of ‘gender tests’. The degradation doesn’t just end here though. Fast forwarding to the tests’ results, Rashmi is pronounced ‘not a woman’ and is declared ineligible from competing… in the female category. Why? It’s the high level of testosterone in her body that has caused such blasphemy. Soon the athlete is stripped of her medals. The raged woman takes this issue to the High Court and demands her respect back.
What do we think?
There probably couldn’t be a better choice to play this role other than Taapsee Pannu, who puts more than just her heart and soul into this film. Her depiction of the integrity a sportswoman possesses comes from the heart, it’s not just an acting job.
The film in itself is a fabulous representation of how the concept of getting a gender test done shows the orthodox world we still live in. The residents of a developing nation that has so many technological advances still have to go through the shame of having a certain body type. Rashmi Rocket breaks the stereotype that all women have to be made a certain way.
While Taapsee is certainly a strong part of why the film is so impactful, let’s not forget Priyanshu Painyuli, Abhishek Banerjee and Supriya Pathak who have given us equally impactful performances.
Hit or Miss?
Rashmi Rocket is definitely a HIT. The film pays ode to all those athletes that we may know or not know about, who have faced similar injustices.