Rashmi Rocket has dared to do what other Indian sports dramas didn’t — examine the flaws of the system in the world of sports. In telling the story of the protagonist, essayed by Taapsee Pannu, the film highlights how some women athletes’ careers have been hampered by the age-old gender-testing practices. Akarsh Khurana’s directorial venture also depicts how an uninformed section of the population wrongly questions Rashmi’s gender due to her hyperandrogenism. While the protagonist is eventually shown pregnant, Pannu says it was a conscious call to not play the pregnancy card to win the gender-testing case in the film.

“It was a wow moment when I heard [the plot point]. I give the credit to writers Aniruddha [Guha] and Akarsh for the screenplay and the script; they made sure they didn’t use the pregnancy card [to determine her womanhood]. Why should you even have to prove [your womanhood?],” emphasises Pannu. The ZEE5 drama, conceived by Nandha Periyasamy, is co-written by Kanika Dhillon and Lisha Bajaj.

The film makes the case for pregnant athletes as well, showcasing how one can continue their sports career, should they choose to. Pannu admits sprinting with a prosthetic baby bump took a little getting used to. “It was scary initially. But I had seen many videos of pregnant women sprinting, and went through interviews of many athletes who ran, knowing they might not win. Just because they’ve conceived doesn’t mean they lack strength.”

As much as the film’s subject appealed to her, the actor says it was a single scene that sealed the deal. “I was sold on the pre-climax conversation [with her baby] in the locker room. That made me weep. It became my motivation to prep for the film and do those training sessions.”

Rashmi Rocket marks her third OTT release this year. While she loves the freedom that OTT platforms offer, Pannu brings in a new perspective. “OTT releases do take away a lot of pressure, but they also take away the validation of stardom. I’m not just an actor; I want to be a star who can act. I want to be able to shoulder the responsibility of a film. I can be the reason for people to come to theatres and watch a film. Box-office collection is the yardstick against which we can measure whether we’ve grown in terms of stardom.”