Anushka begins prep for ‘Chakda Xpress’

Anushka Sharma will be seen portraying Indian cricketer Jhulan Goswami in her upcoming film Chakda Xpress. And in order to get in shape to convincingly play the international cricketer, Anushka has begun her training, reports Hindustan Times.

On Tuesday, the actor was clicked on a cricket field doing the training drills and warm ups in the nets in preparation for her role. In the paparazzi pictures, Anushka can be seen doing warm ups and physical conditioning in the nets at a ground in Mumbai. As per reports shoot is set to begin soon and is expected to conclude later this year.

Jhulan Goswami is regarded as one of the greatest Indian women cricketers and holds the world record for most wickets in One Day Internationals. The fast bowler made her international debut in 2002 and has played 274 games for India over the last 20 years. The film is inspired from the events of her life and how she rose to stardom in an era when women’s cricket struggled for eyeballs.

Last month, talking about the film, Anushka had written on social media, “At a time when Jhulan decided to become a cricketer and make her country proud on the global stage, it was very tough for women to even think of playing the sport. This film is a dramatic retelling of several instances that shaped her life and also women’s cricket.”

Jhulan Goswami, who also shared the film’s teaser on social media, wrote in her posts: “When you represent India, that’s all that is on your mind. 11 women playing to place Team India’s name in history. It doesn’t matter if they said women cant play cricket. When you pull up on to the pitch to bowl, all you see is the opponent holding the cricket bat and the stumps you need to knock out.”

Directed by Susanta Das, the film will release on Netflix but there is no official release date announced. The project was announced last month in the form of a teaser video where Anushka’s look as Jhulan was unveiled. However, the actor was criticised and trolled for her ‘unconvincing’ Bengali accent.

The teaser featured Anushka speaking in Bengali but many viewers commented that the accent was not on point. Others also criticised the layer of make-up put on Anushka to darken her complexion.