Playing the Field

“There has never been a moment in India when women cricketers of the country have been treated as equals with their male counterparts,” says independent filmmaker Sunil Kalra,who screened his documentary on women’s cricket in India— Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies at The Viceregal Hall of Hotel Claridges Thursday. Present at the event was actor Rani Mukerji,draped in an elegant black sari,who was seen sharing some fun moments with writer Jaideep Sareen,Minister of State for Commerce,Jyotiraditya Scindia and Indian women’s cricket captain Anjum Chopra.

Researched,scripted and filmed by Kalra and supported financially by entrepreneur Bava Mahdoom,the film,reportedly the first on women’s cricket in India,captures the worthy moments of the country’s female cricket team by blending footages of some important matches for India with those capturing the anxiety and thrill of playing at Lords and the camaradarie in the dressing room. “Women in India have gone through extreme hardship to mature in a game which has always been called a gentleman’s game. And their effort is going unnoticed. While their earnings are meagre,their male counterparts are earning in millions. We really need to honour these players,” says Kalra,who took four years to complete the film and now plans to travel with the film to sports film festivals around the world.

Chopra,who also participated in a panel discussion held after the screening said,“We are ranked No 3 in the world rankings,which obviously is better that our men’s team at present. We are a chunk of passionate people who love playing the sport. I am glad this film has been made because I think women’s cricket needed their own Chak De India to be noticed by people.” Mukerji,who played a cricketer in director Anurag Singh’s Dil Bole Hadippa pitched in to say,“The documentary’s name is not in good taste. It should be changed to Better Cousins of Million Dollar Babies .”