In the latter half of the movie, we see Mahima beginning her training, which is followed by selection at the state level. The disappointing part is that none of these are addressed in a token manner. In fact, even her confrontation with her parents is limited to just one scene, and there is no depth to the dilemma she faces while leaving her job, as a doctor, and moving into sports. Even while the protagonist is shown playing cricket, there could have been some effort to show her relying on her own strategic knowledge, because she did have the aptitude for it, and building camaraderie with her teammates.
The only inspiring aspect of the film for me came from a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube that shows the training effort put in by Jhanvi Kapoor to adopt the right batting stances and techniques, as she had no experience playing cricket or even watching it before. In this, she openly talks about the hardships and injuries that she went through to get ready for this role.
It would have been nice to have some of this transpire in the actual movie, where the training scenes are interspersed after watching those, almost too often with romantic moments between the two Mahis. In the past, films like Dangal, Mary Kom and Shabaash Mithu have done a great job of portraying the intensity and complexity of female sports stars. After watching them I was left with a sense of motivation and pride. I know Mr and Mrs Mahi is not a sports biopic but it could have learnt a bit from actual stories of women in sports to create a slightly more empowering character of Mahima.
Perhaps, it is better to call this film just Mr Mahi as Mrs Mahi and her journey as a cricketer really remains only in the background of the film.
(The author is an all-rounder in her family-owned business when she’s not being a cricket nerd. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
