Rashmi Rocket review: "Taapsee impresses in this sports drama on gender based challenges!!!"

Even as Tokyo Olympics gave us much to cheer about, there were still a couple of incidents that created headlines. One of the prominent news was IAAF's decision to deny the 800m double Olympic Champion Castor Semenya of South Africa the opportunity to defend her crown . The reason being her refusal to suppress her naturally elevated testosterone levels based on a 2019 ruling by the IAAF which was a prerequisite for intersex athletes to compete in track events ranging from the quarter mile to the mile. A similar incident happened back home, when Dutee Chand the reigning 100m national champion was left out from the 2014 CW & Asian Games over IAAF regulations on hyperandrogenism. Interestingly, this was the premise for Akarsh Khurana's "Rashmi Rocket"& since it was a genre which is one of my fav, I didnt have to think twice to check it out.

The film unfolds with the police barging into a girls hostel at night & dragging out a female based on the complaint that she was indeed a guy. The person in question was Rashmi (Taapsee Pannu), a spirited tomboy who hailed from Bhuj & taken the nation by storm with her breath taking sprints that yielded medals at the national & international level. Even as accolades kept pouring in, some of her team mates envious of her mercurial rise accused her of taking undue advantage due to a higher testosterone level. With the IAAF regulations on such conditions rather rigid, does it mean that she had indeed cheated & would be banned for life???

Akarsh Khurana is a name that most of us wouldn't be familiar with, but Irrfan-Dulquer starrer "Karwaan" was directed by this dude. In his latest venture, he has joined hands with Nandha Periyasamy who has written the story & later fleshed out into a proper script by Kanika Dhillon, Aniruddha Guha, Lisha Bajaj & himself. It is an interesting story that starts out as a sports drama before culminating into a legal battle. Though the topic that Akarsh discusses is serious, he manages to keep the mood moderate and engaging while at the same time ensuring that it wasn't trivialized. Despite the earnest and appreciable effort to be unique, it still throws up a couple of queries which would be spoilers if discussed at this juncture. On the technical side, all the aspects were executed decently.

For a movie like this, it was imperative that Akarsh had to choose a female lead that would fit the bill of an athlete. It would be fair to admit that Taapsee was indeed the right choice & she has done a fine job, though in certain sequences she didn't seem entirely convincing. It was heartening to see Surpriya Pathak given a meaningful role & she aced it as expected. Abhishek Banerjee who was top notch in "Paatal Lok" was an interesting choice as Adv Eeshit and proved that we are likely to see more of him in the coming years. Similarly, Priyanshu Payuli did justice role to his role as the army officer & the pillar of support for Rashmi. As for the rest of the cast, most of them have done their parts aptly.

Verdict: Undoubtedly, an interesting topic was taken up as the subject & Akarsh deserves praise for a job that was reasonably well executed. There is no doubt that it could have been better & certain aspects could have been addressed much more sensibly. However, it still provides an engaging viewing experience that doesnt test our patience. In short, give it a try!!!

 Rating: 2.5/5

 Regards...Ben