Indian cricketer Mithali Raj's biopic Shabaash Mithu gets a new director in Srijit Mukherji who replaced Rahul Dholakia on June 22. According to his statement, he is quitting the film owing to scheduling conflicts due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The cricket
biopic which went on floors on April 5, was interrupted by the Governments' actions of halting film and television shoots due to the pandemic's second wave.
Ajit Andhare announced on Tuesday that Dholakia has stepped down from the director’s chair and filmmaker Srijit Mukherji, known for films like Dwitiyo Purush, Rajkahini, Basishe Srabon, will take over the position.
Regarding the same, Dholakia shared a tweet in his official Twitter account where he shared a notice letter that read, "Covid disruptions have required rescheduling of the shoot and as a result, Rahul is moving on from Shabaash Mithu. It’s unfortunate that after sharing and nurturing this dream for a long time Rahul has to part ways. His contribution will remain, I thank him for that and wish him the very best."
Ajit Andhare, COO, Viacom18 Studios said in a statement that the Bengali director who has worked on multiple Hindi film projects too will now take over the director’s mantle. "I am sure he will bring all his passion and craft to this dream film."
Dholakia, who confessed that parting ways from Shabaash Mithu were a tough decision, had to push away the director's chair owing to the disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the lockdown due to the same.
The letter further read that Pannu's passion to immerse herself in the character and her perseverance to learn the sport made it a delight to work with her. "Ajit has a vision and a plan for the film and the way to release it. I wish him and the team the very best for it," he concluded.
Mukherji, on the other hand, is excited and looking forward to the journey as he is a cricket buff himself. According to a report, he said that Mithali Raj's story has always been an inspiration to him and now that he is a part of the biopic made on her, he looks forward to kickstarting the journey to bring this story to the silver screen soon