“Progressive and positive outlook is likely to draw more impact than regression, especially when you talk about a sensitive topic as gender equality in sports,” noted Sunil Yash Kalra as he screened his 30-minute docu-drama Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies at Kunzum Café in Hauz Khas.
The film goes through the life, dressing rooms and minds of the Indian women’s cricket team and puts forth an amalgamation of humour, drama and conviviality. Sans fiction, it presents vignettes from the lives of fast bowler Jhulan Goswamy, the 27-year-old current captain of the Indian women’s cricket team, and Anjum Chopra, former India skipper, over a period of five years. From a tense and pressured Jhulan prior to a match against Pakistan to a delighted Team India after entering the balcony of Lord’s, the film has it all.
Kalra, who has also been associated with the first ever book on women’s cricket, Women’s Cricket World , believes it is better to present the happier side when you want to make an impact. “The idea was to showcase the humorous and radiant side of the team rather than projecting them as cry-babies. I started working on the film in 2005, when the news of Indian women’s cricket team entering the finals of the World Cup was greeted with cold disinterest by most newspapers and armchair experts. It was difficult to even get information about what was going on in South Africa. This apathy impelled me to shoot this film,” explained Kalra
Among the other guests present were Jaya Sharma (cricketer), renowned poet and humourist Surender Sharma, Puneet Bisht (wicketkeeper, Delhi Daredevils team) and several corporate representatives and producers. In his mid-30s, Kalra is now working on a sequel to the film and plans to bring it out soon. Made on a minimal budget the film has previously been screened at The Press Club of Kolkata and the Arnold Schwarzenegger film festival in Ohio in the U.S.
