Doosra Turns Ganguly’s Lord’s Rebellion Into Freedom Story

Doosra is in cinemas after a Delhi High Court decision refused to stop its release, but the real story begins two decades earlier on the Lord’s balcony. Director Abhinay Deo has built the film around Sourav Ganguly’s shirt-waving celebration in 2002, reading it not as a cricket flashpoint but as a lesson in self-respect.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Deo said the NatWest Series final moment was about refusing to be treated as inferior. That attitude now anchors Doosra, which follows Tara, played by Plabita Borthakur, a young woman growing up in a conservative household in Rajasthan.

From a cricket moment to a personal rebellion

For Deo, the film is less about the match and more about one person’s refusal to give in. “This is a story of emotional freedom, freedom from inferiority and freedom from subservience,” he said. He frames it as a second freedom struggle, while making clear it is about attitude rather than politics.

The title itself is a cricket term. A doosra is a delivery that turns in an unexpected direction, and in the film Tara’s life changes course once she sees Ganguly’s defiance.

“That idea of dadagiri becomes a mantra for her. She thinks, if he can get away with it, so can I,” Deo added.

The release and the legal challenge

Ganguly had moved the Delhi High Court to stay the release over a violation of his personality rights. According to Bar and Bench, the court on Thursday refused to stay the release, allowing the film to proceed with its October 23 theatrical opening.

The dispute adds a layer for viewers: a film about pushing back against authority had to clear a real-world legal hurdle first.

Plabita Borthakur’s own doosra

Plabita did not grow up watching cricket. To find Tara, she watched matches including the NatWest final and went through Ganguly’s interviews, approaching the material as her character would rather than as a sports fan.

She expected a demanding shoot. Instead, she described it as one of her smoothest filmmaking experiences. “But that was the doosra for me because it wasn’t so,” she said.

Here is what the film brings together:

• Release: Doosra opened on October 23 after the Delhi High Court refused a stay.
• Inspiration: Ganguly’s 2002 Lord’s celebration is reframed as emotional freedom.
• Character: Tara stops chasing approval after watching a captain stand his ground.

What comes next

Plabita will next play a singer and will record her own playback songs, an opportunity she said she is thrilled about. Deo is returning to dark comedy, his favourite genre, with an action-comedy series expected to begin filming in January.

For an audience that follows stars as closely as films, Doosra is a reminder that inspiration often comes from a single image. Here, a cricket captain’s rebellion becomes a young woman’s permission slip to question the rules she has been handed.

Source: Hindustan Times

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