Ranbir Kapoor’s heartwarming message on Ladies First, the inspiring documentary on the life and journey of World No1 Archer, Deepika Kumari!
At the age of 12, Deepika Kumari left home to find a better future. Within four years, she was the number one archer in the world. Ladies First follows the journey of a young woman from her community in rural India to Rio de Janeiro, where she fights to become the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal.
When actor Ranbir Kapoor heard and saw the documentary, directed by Uraaz Bahl and produced by Shaana Levy Bahl, he was so moved that he agreed to be a part of a special video wherein he shared his thoughts on Deepika and the movie. In the video, Ranbir states that, “When you hear a story like this, you feel good about yourself, you feel inspired, you feel a sense of victory. That there is a girl like Deepika, who has such a gift that even if i was born at the same time as her, same place as her, went to the same school as her, if we had the same trajectory, if we got the same training and the same infrastructure, which is actually no infrastructure.. in a competition between me and her, she would still beat by ass because that is the gift she has, its a talent.”
About Ladies First: Ladies First tells the story of Deepika Kumari who, born on the roadside to abject poverty in rural India, went in search of food, stumbled upon archery, and within 4 years became the number one archer in the world! Ladies First documents Deepika’s tumultuous path to the Rio 2016 Olympics. Having to overcome the obstacles of a socially repressive system, she strives to achieve her dream of becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Gold Medal. #LadiesFirst is a campaign that aims to inspire girls to overcome the many social, cultural and physical obstacles preventing them from participating in sports. Even if girls don’t become professional athletes, research shows that the power of play has the ability to transform a girls life, making it crucial for us to inject role models, like Deepika, to make a long lasting impact in rural India. Having relatable influencers and heroes creates a 100x ripple effect within a girls community, because it changes the entire families mindset, “If Deepika can do it, so can we!” In India, we have squandered the unrealised talents of millions of young girls. The makers of Ladies First hope Deepika’s story along with her grit and determination, can help shatter India’s tragedy of small expectations for girls and put LADIES FIRST.
