MUMBAI, Sept 26: The life story of Mithali Raj, captain of the Indian women�s cricket team, will now be told through a Bollywood biopic, Viacom18 Motion Pictures announced on Tuesday. She hopes it inspires young girls to explore sports as a career.
The rights for the biopic of the cricket star have been acquired by the studio which has backed content-driven films like �Queen�, Manjhi: �The Mountain Man�, �Drishyam�, �Mary Kom�, �Bhaag Milkha Bhaag� and �Toilet: Ek Prem Katha� in the past.
�I am extremely happy on this association with Viacom18 Motion Pictures. Hoping that this movie inspires more people especially young girls to take up sports as a career,� Mithali said in a statement.
Mithali Raj is the highest run-scorer in women�s international cricket and the only woman cricketer to surpass the 6,000 run mark in ODIs. She is also the first player to score 7 consecutive 50s in ODIs, apart from being the first Indian to have led the national team to an ICC ODI World Cup final twice - 2005 and 2017. An Arjuna awardee, Mithali was also honoured with the Padma Shri in 2015, India�s fourth highest civilian award for her contribution to cricket.
Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Motion Pictures, said in a statement: �Viacom18 Motion Pictures has always been the pioneer in showcasing content with portrayal of strong women characters right from �Queen� to �Kahaani� to �Mary Kom�.
�We are proud to be collaborating with the young and inspirational Mithali Dorai Raj, a name single-handedly responsible in bringing about a shift in the way women�s cricket team was perceived in our country.�
The association between Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Mithali Raj has been facilitated by Varun Chopra - Director, Medallin Sports.
Chopra said: �Mithali remains to be an inspiration for multitudes for many years now and her story on the silver screen will keep motivating generations.� � IANS
