oppn parties Rashmi Rocket: Makes A Powerful Statement

Story Of The Day

As The Captain Promised, Indian Women Win The Hockey Gold

October 04, 2026

People Are Talking About

People Are Talking About Junk Food Near Schools

News Snippets

  • Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh has claimed that Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka refused to meet Congress leaders during his recent Assam visit. He alleged that the group was told to stay away because its outreach was "an Aam Aadmi Party initiative"
  • Indian Railways is undertaking a major expansion of the Guwahati rail network, including new lines, the second Saraighat Bridge, station redevelopment and a Mega Coaching Complex. The projects are intended to improve connectivity, passenger facilities and train operations across the Northeast
  • 150 people were arrested in Delhi as the CJP protest over the resignation of CEC Gynaesh Kumar entered the second day
  • The Centre ordered all AGMUT cadre segments to report within 48 hours any FIR, arrest, adverse court order or investigative action involving IAS, IPS, DANICS and DANIPS officers. The move follows concerns over delays in reporting investigations by agencies including the CBI, ED and anti-corruption bodies
  • India brought back alleged international narco-trafficking kingpin Navpreet Singh from Türkiye, where he had allegedly obtained citizenship under the false identity Navab Virk. Home Minister Amit Shah said Singh was accused of running heroin and methamphetamine trafficking routes from Afghanistan into India
  • Jack Dorsey’s decentralised messaging application Bitchat disappeared from Apple's and Google's app stores in India after Apple said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had ordered its removal under Section 69A of the IT Act. The app's website was also inaccessible through several Indian internet providers
  • The RBI reiterated its cautious stance on private cryptocurrencies, while backing the underlying technologies such as distributed ledgers and tokenisation. Governor Sanjay Malhotra said central-bank digital currencies could offer an alternative for improving cross-border payments
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India must continue building economic resilience amid global uncertainty, highlighting strategic-resource security, diversified supply chains, skills and domestic capabilities in critical minerals, rare earths, semiconductors and small modular reactors. She was speaking at the Kautilya Economic Conclave in New Delhi
  • RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra warned that a slowdown in the global AI investment cycle could trigger sharp repricing of financial assets, while saying any correction in elevated AI valuations in advanced economies could potentially redirect capital towards India. He also identified cyber risk as a major financial-stability concern arising from increasingly sophisticated AI
  • India lost 4-0 to Brazil in the historic international friendly at Kolkata’s Salt Lake Stadium, with Estevao, Pedro and Samuel Lino, who scored twice, finding the net. The match was Brazil’s first senior men’s international on Indian soil
  • Seventeen-year-old Kumkum Mohod won India’s first women’s individual recurve gold at the Asian Games, beating South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off. The victory also secured an Olympic quota place for India for the 2028 Los Angeles Games
  • Pranavi Urs became the first Indian woman to win an individual Asian Games golf gold, finishing one stroke ahead of China’s Yin Ruoning at 15-under 265. India also took silver in the women’s team event
  • Wrestler Aman Sehrawat won the men’s 57kg freestyle gold, defeating reigning world champion Han Chong Song of North Korea 11-7 after recovering from a 7-6 deficit late in the bout
  • India’s men’s hockey team retained the Asian Games gold, defeating Malaysia 5-1 in the final. The victory also secured India a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
  • India retained the Asian Games men’s T20 cricket title, beating Pakistan by 19 runs in the final. Abhishek Sharma’s 61 off 28 balls and Tilak Varma’s unbeaten 51 off 22 helped India post 211/6 before Pakistan finished on 192/6
Asian Games: October 3 gold medallists: Kumkum Mohod (Archery), Pranavi Urs (Golf), Aman Sehrawat (Wrestling), India men’s cricket team (Cricket), and India men’s hockey team (Hockey) /////// India finishes its campaign in 4th position in the Asian Games medal table: 21 gold, 27 silver, 37 bronze; 85 medals.
oppn parties
Rashmi Rocket: Makes A Powerful Statement

By Yogendra
First publised on 2021-10-18 08:36:55

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Yogendra is freelance writer

What happens when a promising new female athlete bursts on the scene and breaks a few records, wins a few gold medals and runs like no one has done before her? In India (although directed by the international federation), questions are raised about her gender and she is subjected to the humiliating and archaic 'gender test' that measures the testosterone level in her blood to find out if she is indeed a female. This happened with Dutee Chand in real life and the makers of Rashmi Rocket have dramatized her story to come up with a film that is powerful in parts and raises many questions about why exceptional performance from female athletes is not taken at face value.

In the film, Rashmi Vira (Taapsee Pannu) is a girl from Bhuj in Gujarat who is shown to beat boys when it comes to running. The point is excessively hammered in by townspeople who keep asking "choro hai ke" (is she a boy). But when Rashmi graduates to running competitively, federation politics raises its ugly head. Jealousy, nepotism and underhand dealings all combine to reduce her achievements to a 'distorted' gender. She is subjected to several tests and her consent is obtained by misrepresenting facts and it is proved that her testosterone levels were much higher than a normal female and hence she was actually a 'male' masquerading as a female. She is stripped of the medals and is banned from running again. She is broken and despite egging on by her mother, her fiancé and an activist lawyer, initially refuses to fight the case in court.

But when she does decide to fight and the film moves to the courtroom, it comes into its own. Although it becomes excessively filmy at times, with even the judge asking her lawyer (Abhishek Banerjee in a low profile but impactful role) whether he sees too many Hindi films as he indulges in drama, there are several points made which work in its favour. Like the time when the Banerjee asks a doctor whether the longer limbs of Michael Phelps were as instrumental in him getting so many medals as the high testosterone levels of Rashmi. In the end, when the active involvement of a federation member and his daughter are proved and the so-called gender test is rubbished, the judge lifts the ban and allows Rashmi to compete again.

Taapsee Pannu shows the spark in some scenes while she is mediocre in others, reflecting the overall tone of the film. The training and actual competition scenes are well shot and move the film forward. The support cast is good. The song Zidd succinctly reflects the will of the spirited sprinter in the second part of the film. Rashmi Rocket makes a powerful statement for female athletes and is good to watch. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Written Grounds Are The Price Of An Arrest

Written Grounds Are The Price Of An Arrest

 7.8% GDP Growth Is Good News.

7.8% GDP Growth Is Good News.

In Depth

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Editor's Pick

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.