'Poor Cousins of Million Dollar Babies', the first Indian sports docudrama, has been selected to be screened at the 1st Arnold Sports Film Festival.
The short-format docudrama, which focuses on the efforts and aspirations of athletes and profiles the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, will be screened on March 4 at the Arena Grand Movie Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, US as part of the Arnold Sports Festival, the largest multi-sport festival in the Nation.
Hollywood action hero Arnold Schwarzenegger was amongst the celebrities who judged the entries and he will present the awards to the top winners on March 6.
Filmmaker Sunil Yash Kalra, who directed the Docudrama, said the film is an "encouraging look at the game" and the aspirations of women in sports.'' It is the only film selected from India to be screened at the first Arnold Sports Film Festival, Kalra said.
''Cricket is extremely popular in India and I hope that the film will raise the awareness of women’s cricket in the US,'' he said.
This 30-minutes high action drama is a real life story that takes the viewers into the minds, lives and dressing room of women’s cricketers in India.
Shot over a period of four years in four different countries, this Sports Docudrama captures real life situations and weaves it into a gripping saga of interpersonal relationship, dressing room camaraderie and will to emerge out of the shadows of Indian men’s cricket who have acquired the status of Million Dollars Babies.
It is not just a tale of disparities among men and women in the cricketing arena, but a story about the triumph of women’s cricket despite the disparities that prevail.
The protagonists of the film, Anjum Chopra and Jhulan Goswami, are members of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, who despite facing adversities and discrimination fulfilled their long cherished dream of playing at the Mecca of Cricket- Lord’s Cricket Ground, alongside the men.
The film takes one through the moments of trials and tribulations, joy and success as these women etch their names in the cornerstones of the male dominated world of cricket.
''This film is a tribute to all the women who have faced hardships to nurture the game of women’s cricket and endured scepticism and ridicule to promote it,'' the filmmaker said.
Sunil Yash Kalra has served Indian sports in different capacities for over a decade. He is also the author of a coffee table book, 'Commonwealth Journey from Melbourne to New Delhi', published in 2006.
In 2010, his book Road to Commonwealth Games was released by leading international publishing House - Penguin. He has worked closely with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in creating the logo and brand identity of ‘PYKKA’ (Panchayat Yuva Krida Khel Abhiyan), the largest sports initiative for rural sports in India