Sampa Mangal always dreamt of becoming an actor and performing in front of a large audience. Hailing from a small town called Barrackpore — an industrial neighborhood that was immortalized by Mangal Pandey in 1857, she went against her family to act and her dream really did come true.
Sampa Mangal is all set to play the role of former India cricketer Neetu David in Mithali Raj’s biopic Shabaash Mithu, in which Taapsee Pannu is going to play the role of the Indian skipper, Mithali Raj.
Former Indian left-arm spinner Neetu David is India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests and the second-highest wicket-taker in One Day Internationals. She has played 10 test matches and 97 One-Day Internationals. David was also the first bowler for India to take 100 wickets in Women’s ODIs. She is currently the chairperson of the BCCI women’s selection committee.
Sampa has been a part of the theater since her early days of college. Later, Sampa was discovered by Adrija Dasgupta, who encouraged her to enroll in the National School of Drama in New Delhi. Apart from Shabaash Mithu, Sampa has been a part of films like Sonchiriya, Article 377, and Maxim Gorky’s Mother.
In an interview with Sharmishtha Ghosal for The Indian Express, Sampa shared her process of preparing for the role and also told that she has started shooting for the film already.
“I have already shot for the film for three days. Initially, I was very apprehensive to play Neetu, who was a left-hand bowler and I am a right-hander and I’d never played this game before. So, it was very tough and I trained under coaches Nooshin Al Khadeer and Devika Palshikhar,” Sampa said.
“Besides, I’m also trying to bring out Neetu’s personality, how she talks or reacts. I haven’t yet met her in person. I messaged her on her social media account that I am playing her role, but I think she hasn’t yet seen the same,” she added.
She gave her take on women’s cricket and also said that it is very sad that women cricketers are not a household name in India whereas their male counterparts are.
“I call myself a feminist but I feel ashamed that I never knew any woman cricketers or for that matter the female sportspersons who have made our nation proud. When it comes to cricket, Dhoni, Tendulkar, or Kohli are household names but how many of us still know about Jhulan Goswami, Neetu David, or Mithali Raj and her ilk?” she said.
“Apart from Shilpi Marwah, Mumtaz Sorcar, Taapsee Pannu, and I, the rest of the team actors in this film are real-life cricketers. When I heard the stories of their struggle and inequality in terms of financial compensations, I was shocked (the highest contract value for female cricketers is Rs 50 lakh which is half of the lowest pay grade for male cricketers).”
Source: The Indian Express
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