<p>Rashmi Rocket</p>.<p>Hindi (Zee5)</p>.<p>Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Banerjee, Priyanshu Painyuli</p>.<p>Director: Akarsh Khurana</p>.<p>Rating: 2.5/5</p>.<p>'Rocket' is just one adjective for Rashmi. The sprint queen is also a rights activist in her Gujarat village, where she pays wife-beaters back in their own coin. In the Rann of Kutch, she becomes the saviour of soldiers about to step on dramatically placed landmines.</p>.<p>If that's not impressive enough, Rashmi turns the advocate of all women whose wings are clipped by regressive laws and an unsupportive society.</p>.<p>In short, Rashmi Rocket signs up for a lot more races than she can actually participate in. Never mind the song-and-dance pressed into the package — director Akarsh Khurana wants a dab of everything from the palette.</p>.<p>But the movie has its heart in the right place. It raises a significant question as far as Indian athletics is concerned: Why not do away with the controversial gender test which does not determine the gender of an athlete but only gives the testosterone levels in blood?</p>.<p>Rashmi's (Taapsee Pannu) legal battle with the Indian athletics federation sure has references from the Dutee Chand episode. Here, there is more melodrama, with cops barging into a ladies' hostel to drag out a "man". Insensitive media rushes to report on "the nation's biggest fraud". Soon, an Asian Games champion is brought down from the victory stand and shamed publicly.</p>.<p>The ensuing courtroom exchanges are more thrilling (courtesy Abhishek Banerjee) than the awkwardly-executed 100-metre races and relays. Since when did our track and field events look so tacky? A film about India's fastest female athlete warranted more research.</p>.<p>A few bumps are ironed out by Taapsee's spirited performance. But a shoddy storytelling ensures that she doesn't quite reach the level playing field she is aspiring for. For a change, the woman has a solid cushion in her armyman partner (Priyanshu Painyuli), who can easily run for the husband-of-the-year trophy.</p>
<p>Rashmi Rocket</p>.<p>Hindi (Zee5)</p>.<p>Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Abhishek Banerjee, Priyanshu Painyuli</p>.<p>Director: Akarsh Khurana</p>.<p>Rating: 2.5/5</p>.<p>'Rocket' is just one adjective for Rashmi. The sprint queen is also a rights activist in her Gujarat village, where she pays wife-beaters back in their own coin. In the Rann of Kutch, she becomes the saviour of soldiers about to step on dramatically placed landmines.</p>.<p>If that's not impressive enough, Rashmi turns the advocate of all women whose wings are clipped by regressive laws and an unsupportive society.</p>.<p>In short, Rashmi Rocket signs up for a lot more races than she can actually participate in. Never mind the song-and-dance pressed into the package — director Akarsh Khurana wants a dab of everything from the palette.</p>.<p>But the movie has its heart in the right place. It raises a significant question as far as Indian athletics is concerned: Why not do away with the controversial gender test which does not determine the gender of an athlete but only gives the testosterone levels in blood?</p>.<p>Rashmi's (Taapsee Pannu) legal battle with the Indian athletics federation sure has references from the Dutee Chand episode. Here, there is more melodrama, with cops barging into a ladies' hostel to drag out a "man". Insensitive media rushes to report on "the nation's biggest fraud". Soon, an Asian Games champion is brought down from the victory stand and shamed publicly.</p>.<p>The ensuing courtroom exchanges are more thrilling (courtesy Abhishek Banerjee) than the awkwardly-executed 100-metre races and relays. Since when did our track and field events look so tacky? A film about India's fastest female athlete warranted more research.</p>.<p>A few bumps are ironed out by Taapsee's spirited performance. But a shoddy storytelling ensures that she doesn't quite reach the level playing field she is aspiring for. For a change, the woman has a solid cushion in her armyman partner (Priyanshu Painyuli), who can easily run for the husband-of-the-year trophy.</p>