Rashmi Rocket revolves around a village girl who aspires to represent India at the world championship. The sprinter might have become an inspiration back home, but she soon realises the exploitation female athletes face in the name of gender testing under the age-old system of our country. When her body type fails to fall under the conventional feminine cut, she gets banned from the sport after being declared ‘not a woman’. Thus begins her fight against the athletics association to regain her respect and a personal battle to uphold her identity and get back to the race of life.

What’s striking is the way Taapsee Pannu has got into the skin of her character, with near-perfect athletic body, mannerism and on-field action. While Priyanshu Painyuli plays an army man in love with Rashmi, Abhishek Banerjee portrays a lawyer who fights her case of human rights violation.

Taapsee called Rashmi Rocket a “differently special” film. She said, “I’ve always been approached when either the script or the director is ready to make the film but one line of this story fell in my lap in Chennai and then from there to it becoming a full-fledged film has been a feeling I haven’t experienced with any other film before. Everyone was just so sure about the story from day one. I’m extremely proud of it.”

Director Akarsh Khurana added, “It is a film that covers a lot of ground, it is essentially about the triumph of the human spirit. It also offered the opportunity to tackle some serious issues, while still being emotional and gripping. I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into it. And now I can’t wait for people to see the final outcome.”

Rashmi Rocket will premiere on ZEE5 on October 15.