Doosra opens in cinemas; critics split on Plabita Borthakur's cricket docudrama
By Siddharth VermaBusiness Correspondent, Peepals Bharat
Representative image: ArminEP / Pixabay
Abhinay Deo's Doosra, a docudrama built around India's 2002 win at Lord's, reached theatres on October 23, 2026 after the Delhi High Court refused Sourav Ganguly's plea for a stay.
What Happened
Doosra, a Hindi docudrama directed by Abhinay Deo and starring Plabita Borthakur, reached cinemas across India on Friday, October 23, 2026, a day after the Delhi High Court refused former India captain Sourav Ganguly's plea to stop its release. The film mixes fiction with archival footage of India's 2002 NatWest Series final win at Lord's, and its early reviews are sharply divided: some critics praise its ambition and its lead performance, while others feel its two halves never fit together.
Key Facts
- Release date: October 23, 2026, in theatres.
- Director: Abhinay Deo; story credited to Agnello Dias; music by Ram Sampath.
- Cast: Plabita Borthakur as Tara, with Ankur Vikal, Samidha Guru, Twisha Joshi and Krishna Gokani.
- The story follows Tara, a young woman in a conservative small-town household in Rajasthan in the 1990s, who begins to push back against the rules that shape her life.
- Her turning point is linked to a real moment: Sourav Ganguly's celebration at Lord's after India's 2002 NatWest final win, which she watches on television.
- On October 22, the Delhi High Court declined to stay the film after Ganguly argued that its use of archival footage violated his personality rights.
- No opening-day box office figures had been published by the morning of October 24.
Why It Matters
Doosra is an unusual film for Hindi cinema. It is neither a cricket biopic nor a straightforward drama. It uses a famous sporting moment, one that many Indians remember, as the spark for a story about a woman's freedom within her family. That idea, of sport changing how ordinary people see their own lives, is what the makers have built the film around.
Critics have responded very differently to how well that works. The reviewer at Scroll felt the film tries to force two incompatible ideas into one story and needed to choose between them. The Hollywood Reporter India called it a docudrama that feels like a fragile idea stretched to feature length. DNA India, on the other hand, rated it four stars, calling it an earnest and unconventional drama and praising Borthakur's performance, while noting that its emotional arc could have gone deeper.
The film also matters for what happened before its release. Ganguly's case raised the question of how far filmmakers can use real footage of public figures without their consent. The Delhi High Court's refusal to stay the film allowed it to open on schedule.
For audiences in Assam and the North-East, the film has an added point of interest: Borthakur, who plays the lead, is from Assam, and the court clearance for her film was reported prominently in the state's press.
| Point | Detail |
|---|---|
| Film | Doosra (Hindi) |
| Release | October 23, 2026 |
| Director | Abhinay Deo |
| Lead | Plabita Borthakur |
| Reviews | Split; four stars from DNA India, critical views from Scroll and The Hollywood Reporter India |
Impact
Short-term: The film's first weekend will show whether word of mouth can overcome mixed reviews. It opened on the same day as the Ayushmann Khurrana and Sara Ali Khan spy comedy Udta Teer.
Long-term: Whatever its box office, Doosra adds to a small group of Indian films that blend documentary footage and fiction. The court proceedings over Ganguly's personality rights may also shape how future films use footage of living public figures.
Who is affected: Filmgoers and cricket fans, the film's cast and crew, Sourav Ganguly, producers who use archival footage of public figures, and audiences in Assam following Plabita Borthakur's career.
Key Takeaway
Doosra, built around India's 2002 Lord's win, opened in theatres on October 23, 2026 to divided reviews after the Delhi High Court refused to stop its release.
Questions and Answers
When did Doosra release?
Doosra released in theatres across India on October 23, 2026, a day after the Delhi High Court refused Sourav Ganguly's plea for a stay.
What is Doosra about?
It follows Tara, a young woman in a conservative small-town family in 1990s Rajasthan, who finds the courage to challenge the rules around her after watching Sourav Ganguly's celebration at Lord's following India's 2002 NatWest final win.
What are critics saying about Doosra?
Reviews are split. DNA India gave it four stars and praised Plabita Borthakur, while critics at Scroll and The Hollywood Reporter India felt the mix of documentary and fiction did not hold together.
Why did Sourav Ganguly go to court over Doosra?
Ganguly argued that the film's use of archival footage violated his personality rights. On October 22, 2026, the Delhi High Court declined to stay the film's release.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
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