Taapsee Pannu’s upcoming film Rashmi Rocket has been creating waves on social media for quite some time. The trailer that dropped two weeks ago has been a real eye-opener for many of us who were unaware of the problem of gender-testing in sports. Recently, while talking to a leading daily, the actress revealed that she was unaware of the practice herself until she signed the movie.
Taapsee said, “As someone who loves sports, I was shocked that I did not know about this. So, I started my research parallel to what Aniruddha Guha [writer] was doing for the screenplay and saw the extent of the problem happening only to females.” She also added that it’s bizarre that there are rules that will determine if an athlete is a woman enough or not.” She added, “ It’s shocking that a woman is asked to prove her womanhood to pursue her profession. The more I learned about it, the more motivated I was to do this film.”
The plot revolves around a woman Rashmi, who becomes a successful athlete, but things go south after she undergoes a gender verification test. Since her body structure does not adhere to the conventional ‘feminine body’ type, she is accused of being a fraud and is shunned from the national athletics team.
The subject of gender testing came under the spotlight in 2014, when athlete Dutee Chand was dropped from participating in the Commonwealth Games that same year. As per multiple reports, the reason cited was her hyperandrogenism, ( a medical condition characterized by high levels of androgens in women), which made her ineligible to compete as a female athlete. On being asked if the movie is inspired by her, Taapsee stated that the film has been inspired by various athletes who have faced a similar issue.
Well, it’s disappointing to know that such practices still happen in the country. We’re glad that Taapsee’s film is aiming to raise awareness about this discriminatory practise. Here’s wishing the actress all the very best for her upcoming film.
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