Is It Just Us Or Does The Teaser For ‘Shabaash Mitthu’ Look The Same As ‘Chakda Xpress’?

Based on the life of Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj, Shabaash Mitthu is yet another biopic directed by Srijit Mukherji and starring Taapsee Pannu. Produced by Viacom 18 Studios, the teaser looks eerily similar to Anushka Sharma’s upcoming release Chakda Xpress. 

Upcoming cricket movies by Bollywood

Chakda Xpress, based on the life of contemporary cricketer Jhulan Goswami, is one amongst the several biopics that are being produced by the Hindi film industry in recent years. 

Rajkummar Rao and Janhvi Kapoor are also working on the Sharan Sharma-directed Mr and Mrs Mahi, which would essentially look closely into the life of former Indian captain, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. 

Are all sports biopics the same?

While we agree that both Shabaash Mitthu and Chakda Xpress tell the story of two phenomenally talented cricket players, it is easy to notice the desire for the entertainment industry to bet on films catering to the notion of women empowerment. Not one producer would want to get cancelled for misrepresentation or for making a regressive film. 

Additionally, biopics provide scriptwriters, actors and directors with a safe space away from certification obstacles and threats of boycotts. To tell the story of a nationally celebrated individual reduces the burdens on the producing team and hence, is a hot-selling storyline in Bollywood today. 

What’s the rush to keep filming the same story? 

Films like Chakda Xpress and Shabaash Mitthu, and Saina, M.S.Dhoni and Sachin in the past beg to raise the question: why now? 

In the rush to immortalise Indian sportspersons on screen, are we in a storytelling rut? These are distinct lives, with their own highlights and struggles. So why do these sports biopics all look and sound the same?