New Delhi Correspondent
When Bollywood and cricket, the two most popular pastimes of Indians, blend, it tends to provide an exciting cocktail.
Remember a most abiding scene from an iconic cricket stadium when an ecstatic Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly took off his shirt and swung it in the air 17 years ago at the balcony of the dressing room at Lord’s to celebrate his country’s win in the NatWest trophy competition against England.
That scene has inspired a Bollywood docu-fiction film "Doosra" by director Abhinay Deo who has taken a key slice of India's cricket history to weave the coming-of-age story of a young girl who takes a cue from Sourav and revolts against the patriarchal society in Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The movie is set against the backdrop of India's win against England in 2002 NatWest series.
"There is hardly anyone in our country who does not have a fascination for cricket be it filmmakers, creative people or common public. In our film, the footage of the 2002 match and the interviews of prominent personalities run parallel to the fiction story.
I was fascinated with what that period in cricket did for our country," Deo told the media. Plabita Borthakur of "Lipstick Under My Burkha" fame plays the role of Tara in the film who belongs to an orthodox household in Jodhpur.
"We decided to merge fiction and documentary. It is a story of India, cricket and Sourav. Then there is this girl who is growing up around the time when there was a lot of buzz in the world of economics, politics and cricket. She is seeking answers.
"The girl takes inspiration from that victory, which was history in the making. In the film, the girl is going through her own struggles and she takes inspiration from the cricket world, from Sourav Ganguly and changes her life," Deo said.
According to Deo, the film touches upon courage, freedom of expression and fighting social prejudices among other things. "It talks about freedom from many things, social prejudices, inferiority complex,” said the director.
"Doosra" is currently in the final stages of post-production and the makers are finalizing how, when and where to release the film.
Incidentally, "Doosra" is the name of a lethal ball from Indian spinner Harbjahan Singh who has outfoxed several leading batsmen across the cricket world by that delivery.
