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We're coming up on two years.

In April?

- Did you join in April? - Then what?

She's the better batsman but gets out stupidly.

Tell me your highest score!

- Anybody can get the highest score. - Who made the team win?!

You!

- So then? - Fine, never mind.

A real batsman is one who plays till the end, understand?

If I hit a six, she gets jealous.

No way! Six?

My name is Kaikasha Mirza and I'm 20 years old.

I'm a right-handed batsman.

I enjoyed playing cricket.

I wanted to play but didn't know that girls play.

Because I had never seen girls play on TV.

Shall we? Our time's up. Let's go.

In India, women's cricket is not extensively played.

Girls are not really encouraged to go and play cricket.

They would allow their sons to go and play but

they do not allow their daughters to go and play.

Parents are scared about the girl getting

injured by the hard seasoned ball.

If she plays in the sun and she gets a tan,

if her skin color becomes dark, who's going to marry her?

Women cricketers are not professionals.

They can't be even if they want to.

There's hardly any money.

Every parent feels, "My son is going to be Sachin."

Spending 2000 rupees ($30) a month

for a daughter, they'll think twice.

What will she do when she grows up? Certainly not a cricketer!

Parents say, "You might as well do your

studies and graduation and take up jobs."

And that's why they are dropouts from cricket.

And later on, it's marriage or whatever.

My brother learned cricket here.

Out of curiosity, I went to watch one day.

I had just been playing at home.

I decided to go see how they played.

I teased my brother that I could hit better than him.

The coach said, "Why don't you show us?"

So I played there once.

Coach asked Mummy, "Is your daughter interested in cricket?"

Mummy said, "Yes, she keeps playing at home."

Then coach said that there's a league for girls too.

Mummy told Daddy about it.

But Daddy said...

"What would our family and relatives say?"

They say girls shouldn't play because we wear burkas.

Muslims are not allowed.

I think I'm the first Muslim playing here.

If I tell someone I'm Muslim and play, they really like it.

They think it's cool because we're not really allowed to.

Non-Muslim girls can play without a problem.

My uncles yell at me, "How long will you play cricket?"

"What are you getting by playing?"

I get irritated with them

but not with others who don't understand.

My uncles know I want to do this

so it angers me when they make fun.

This year, there's more opposition

to girls without purdahs and hijabs.

But we must know our limits and be modest.

I'm not trying to change the Islamic system.

If I go against it then people will be against me.

They'll lose for sure, but the question is in how many overs.

Why worry when there's Zaheer?

Zaheer will be caught out in the very first ball.

- But he's a bowler. - He'll take wickets.

Of course he'll take wickets.

Look!

He took Yuvraj's wicket.

Daddy will drink tea.

They've been calling me!

They must need your help.

Everybody likes you.

You're the youngest and everybody's favorite.

Look how happy he got!

Right?

What was he doing?

He was hitting an uppercut.

When the boys played as kids, she would join them.

I used to think, "Great. Now something's going to break."

They've broken windows.

These kids have broken so many things!

Mummy says, "You should've been born a boy."

"How were you born a girl?"

More than anyone, we parents are interested in cricket.

We used to watch, so the kids also started watching.

So the kids also got interested.

When I used to take my sons to cricket practice

I used to also take Kaikasha along.

The coach and I saw her interest.

And she started playing there.

The coach said that she has talent.

And I should sign her up for women's cricket.

Then I said, her daddy won't allow it.

At first he refused.

Being a Muslim girl,

wearing shirts and pants and playing cricket!

So he said no.

The purdah is for the woman's dignity.

Wearing a burka is a very nice thing in the Muslim community.

And it should be worn.

If the husband asks his wife to wear a veil

then she may listen to the husband.

The burka is very special to us.

We have to listen to Daddy and do as he says.

Initially, I didn't want to wear a burka.

Eventually, I started liking it.

Daddy would say to wear it.

Daddy made us wear burkas very young.

Around the age of 13.

I wanted to be a model.

To be Miss World.

Used to.

Then I wanted to be an air hostess.

I even interviewed for it.

But when I went I wore a niqab (veil).

They told me, "Niqab is not allowed."

So I said, "I'll take it off and come."

But they said, "If you want the job,

you have to take it off at home."

"You can't wear it to work."

So I said, "Fine, I won't do this."

"I can't remove the niqab." So I didn't take the job.

Daddy didn't allow me to model.

It just remained a dream.

But it was an impossible dream.

Because Daddy doesn't allow these things.

Daddy has an archaic mindset.

Mummy says if Daddy weren't here...

I pray nothing happens to him...

But she says if he weren't here,

I would let you wear whatever you want.

My daddy never made me wear a burka.

So, I never wore it.

But we carried ourselves based on our religion.

I allowed Saba to model for one or two ads.

She modeled for a political party and for a hair product.

But I said no more than those.

She also got offers for TV shows, but I didn't allow that.

Honorable Muslim girls don't get into the film industry.

I think about her dream...

Well I want her to become a doctor.

She says she wants to be a religious scholar sometimes,

but she keeps changing her mind.

I've told her to decide on one thing that you want to do.

If you become a religious scholar, that's a good thing.

Now I'm worried about her marriage.

Her marriage is on hold because of financial reasons.

I've told her, "While you're here, do what you want."

"Later you'll be married. Then?"

"Who knows if your husband will let you?"

Look.

Photo? I bet it's a selfie.

It's not a photo.

It's a...

Wait, I'll tell you.

I'm walking with a bride.

- Oh really? - Yes.

- Don't you know? - Be quiet!

I tried to finish 12th grade,

but I quit because it cost a lot.

I have four brothers and sisters and only Daddy earns.

We want to work, but Daddy says girls are not allowed.

It's not allowed in our family because we are from Lucknow.

And Lucknow noblemen certainly don't let their daughters work.

I do all the cooking every day.

My elder sister does the laundry.

When Kaikasha has a day off, she cleans the entire house.

- She wants to be a designer.

She'll become a designer, do something and then get married.

Everybody has dreams. Or will she make rotis her entire life?

When Daddy brought up marriage...

He said that since Kaikasha and Saba are busy,

let's just get Heena married.

So I started crying.

I said, "You're letting everybody

pursue their interests but me."

So he said, "Okay, what do you want to do?"

I said, "First I want to finish studies,

and then pursue fashion design or singing."

Then he said, "Okay, fine."

The fashion design course that Heena wants to do is expensive.

The singing course is also expensive.

And so her matters are stalled.

They are so expensive that it is

difficult to bear them single-handedly.

If money is spent only towards her,

there wouldn't be enough for the family.

And that's a fact.

I don't know myself what I will be in the future.

Sometimes I get emotional when I remember this.

This was in 1999.

Kaikasha had said to me...

I was going abroad.

And Kaikasha said, "Papa..."

"Everyone's fathers stay with them."

"Why won't you stay with us too?"

"I don't like it when you leave."

Whenever I remember this, I get emotional.

And I feel very weak.

It seems like a small thing but it isn't.

That a daughter is telling her father,

"Everyone's fathers stay with them."

I'm strong minded but very weak at heart.

One should not kill children's dreams.

Like Kaikasha is interested in cricket.

She's extremely passionate.

And it seems her luck is also great.

Whatever she chooses, she will do well.

When he returned from abroad, I explained things to him.

He then asked his mother for advice.

She said, "Son, if you don't send her

and if she wants to go

then you can't go there and check on her."

"So it's better you give her permission."

"And then check on her."

"Because a father has the right to know where his child is."

So I inquired about her.

She goes straight to practice and comes straight back.

And what makes me most happy about her is

if she is unable to do something, she relentlessly

pursues it to find out why she is unable to do it.

This is her best quality and it warms my heart.

As a father, I hope that she plays for the nation.

And is successful.

For one or two months, I wore a burka to play cricket.

The women on the trains are judgmental.

They always imagine the worst.

I got on the train once.

And this woman said, "She puts on her burka

on the train. Wonder what she's up to."

So I went and told Daddy. He said,

"Don't wear the burka to cricket from now on."

To live in this society, we must move with it.

If we live in an unfavorable manner,

society will be unfavorable toward us.

If you wear the burka on the train

and take it off at the station

such women are frowned upon.

It's better you leave home without a burka.

Let the entire society see where you're going.

The thing is Daddy fears for us a lot.

Where she goes, people are mostly of other religions.

Daddy would fear, "You're alone, wearing a burka

where there aren't other Muslim girls."

For all cricket-related things, she doesn't wear a niqab at all.

"Wear it when you're going out around here, otherwise don't."

All my neighbors know I play cricket.

They say, "It's good a girl is getting ahead."

They say that to me, but who knows

what they say behind my back.

People ask, "Don't your parents say

anything about Kaikasha playing cricket?"

I tell them, "Mummy and Daddy signed her up themselves."

Then they ask, "Does she go without a burka?"

So I say, "Yes, without a burka."

They ask other things too but I tell them,

"I can't say any more, it's a secret."

- Buy me a chocolate, won't you? - I'm fasting.

So you buy one for me!

In one month, we have selections for the Mumbai team.

There's a lot of competition in the Seniors category.

I have to work really hard to be selected.

I hope to play for Mumbai and then onwards.

Selectors will pick around 25-30 girls in each group.

Like Under 16, Under 19 and Seniors.

Senior cricket is a totally different level.

It's professional level.

So there, it's the survival of the fittest.

When I first joined, the coach said

there was a good chance I could make it.

But it takes time to learn.

More and more girls joined and now the competition is tougher.

I practice seven days a week.

I don't have a single day off in a month.

I have to work hard and face each ball as it comes.

I don't think there's any luck involved.

What luck?

We three sisters sleep in this room.

I sleep here.

My elder sister sleeps here.

My younger sister sleeps here.

This is my stuff.

It's got everything - cricket balls, etc.

This has my jewelry.

We broke that glass.

Broke it while playing cricket.

This one. There's no glass there.

They took this at the Chowpatty beach.

Heena, Saba and Mummy.

It's very recent.

My elder sister, naughty me, my younger sister,

and my younger brother.

And this, my cricket photo.

Daddy made me get this for a potential arranged marriage.

But I didn't give them the photo.

We've already talked about marriage.

She's asked for two years.

If she makes it in cricket, then fine. Otherwise...

After two years, we'll get her married.

We'll look for a nice man.

Like a marriage bureau, there are ladies who do this-

- We don't want to do that.

No, we don't want to do that but I'm just explaining

that there are marriage bureaus...

There are also women who-

- She doesn't know how this works.

We don't marry like this.

We will find a groom through relatives and family.

Now she's the mother, she thinks differently.

I'm the father, I think differently.

My way of looking for her groom is...

If we're really looking for a guy, it's not about

his looks, education, upbringing or career.

Ask about him in his community.

If he's good, then he's good

outside his inner circle as well.

In his neighborhood as well.

If he's bad, he gets cigarettes on credit from here...

Buying paan and tobacco on credit from there.

Doesn't pay anywhere.

Then this means he doesn't work.

We want a guy who is self-respecting.

One who is honorable.

One who has a good reputation in society.

That's the kind of guy we want.

Someone who can live well with what they have.

If we find a nice guy like he said,

we'll tell him in advance that she plays.

If he's okay with it, then fine. Otherwise, she'll have to quit.

Yes, I'm angry. Not shy.

If I have to marry in two years, why did I even play?

I shouldn't have played at all.

I'm going to play, whether they let me or not.

You have to look good too, don't you?

You can't just play cricket. You have to be fashionable too.

People don't believe I play cricket because I'm so fancy.

My job is to work hard.

Whether I'm selected or not is in God's hands, not mine.

I've told Akshaya, "If you get selected, you'll forget me."

She said, "Time will tell," and I said, "Let's see!"

We'll remember each other. After all, I started with them.

We won't forget each other.

Move quicker, sir!

Sorry, I don't know Marathi.

I don't know Marathi either!

I want it in blue and don't want it to say "sweet" and "heart."

- My butt would read "sweetheart." - It's nice, right?

The butt reads "sweetheart"!

So what? Oh right, don't get this.

This is good for you.

- This? - Yeah, it's cool.

It's simple, without fancy designs.

This looks good.

Give me two. I'll buy them for 100 rupees ($1.50).

Two for 200 ($3)!

Pay me 250 ($3.75).

I swear... if I had... take a look.

Ma'am, there's a cost.

But I don't have that much!

Do you think we're rich just because of the filming?

Aren't you?

Of course not!

We bought so much from you, you're rich.

Let's go.

Look at the one behind you.

Pick any. They're 250 each ($3.75).

You want something like this?

- Kaikasha, I like this. - This?

You'll have to show it to me.

This one looks good too.

Tell me which color.

Pathan's out! Pathan's out!

- Yusuf Pathan's out? - How much did Tendulkar score?

Gave the poor guy a boundary while trying to get him out.

Do you know the price of tickets to the finals?

50,000 ($750) and one lakh ($1500) if India plays.

For the same ticket, same spot and same seat!

Look! He looks like he has to go to the toilet.

I always wonder what the match umpires do

when they have to go to the toilet!

Yeah! They stand for an entire day!

I called it! They won't even score 300.

He took five wickets!

Everybody travels long distances to practice.

My house is the farthest.

I leave at 2:00 and get there by 3:45.

And then take the 7:45 train home.

Kaikasha, when are your selections?

They haven't told us yet.

- When are your selections? - At 7:00.

- Where? - At the Marine Lines Gymkhana.

Hey! Wait up!

We're already prepared.

- We've worked hard all year.

If I'm not selected, then I'll try, try until I have success.

She'll get married.

- I'll marry you.

Let's go!

Listen! Now nobody's around.

I was saying...

Daddy said, "You're working so hard...

the outcome is not in your hands."

"Your hard work is what matters."

It's her birthday.

I didn't say anything. They found out themselves.

Don't lie.

Did I say anything? They knew it.

She just went out with her boyfriend.

Her boyfriend is throwing a party on her birthday.

There's no boyfriend. She's just crazy.

I can throw my own party.

I don't need someone else for that.

She's asking for a party. Wait, I'll give you one.

Whoever this boyfriend of mine is, go ask him for a party.

Am I right?

She's taking us to the Taj Hotel, for real.

She plans on mopping the floors there.

Fanta, Fanta, Fanta! Cheers!

Kaikasha, on your 23rd birthday...

23rd?!! It's 21, one.

In two years, you'll play internationally right?

Yeah!

You're getting the Man of the Series Award.

How does it feel?

- Feels very good. - What's the feeling?!

- What's the feeling like? - The feeling's great.

Say it like Zaheer Khan, not like Yusuf Pathan.

Sometimes it makes me sad that it takes so long to improve.

I've been practicing here for a year.

I'm older than all the girls here.

At this age it's harder.

Nowadays, they've reduced the age to play.

You can only play on the team up to a certain age.

As you age, your chances get lower!

My biggest worry is that I need to learn fast.

Nothing else.

Over the last couple of days,

the coach says my batting has improved.

I'm a batsman, not a bowler.

My batting has improved.

I pray every day that I get better.

That's why we are so eager at practice.

To work hard, to succeed and do something for our parents.

Getting selected to play for Mumbai would

be an indescribable feeling for a player.

If I don't make the team,

Daddy will start talking about arranging my marriage.

If I get married, I may not get to play cricket at all.

Our girl plays well.

She plays with heart.

God willing, she will be successful one day.

Let at least one girl from our family,

at least one Muslim girl among us get ahead.

So we all support her and by God's grace,

her hard work should pay off.

I hope she succeeds.

That she becomes something, just like Daddy wishes,

"My daughter should become something."

I hope she proves herself.

Let's see what her fate holds.

Whether she's able to make it or not.

A lot of the cricketers here are more experienced than me.

We've been playing since childhood.

We've been practicing here regularly for many years.

I played for Seniors last year.

I played Under 19 last year.

Under 19.

Not yet.

All I can do is hope.

This is the Senior Team Selection for MCA.

All the batsmen, come aside.

Pure batsmen.

And the pure bowlers.

I'll pick the all-rounders later.

Pad up, you three girls.

I don't feel bad about not making the team.

It's up to us and how we perform.

A big factor is that I started

playing cricket very late in life.

Had I started earlier, I would

have made it, by God's grace.

I last spoke to Akshaya on the MCA Tour,

but it was a hi-bye kind of meeting.

She was selected on the Under 19 Team in 2013.

We don't talk on the phone nor message.

Not even WhatsApp or Facebook.

When I first joined,

only she was with me.

No matter what, no matter how she is,

she's my friend.

In the last three years, my life has changed a lot.

In 2011, Dad and Mom had a fight and he left.

We were asleep, and he left

without his phone and bank cards.

So we thought he was nearby.

Then night came, and the next day,

and we had no idea where he was.

He didn't tell anyone where he had moved.

He only called from public phones.

He sometimes said he was in Delhi, and sometimes elsewhere.

My dad used to hit Mom with whatever he could find.

I used to intervene and tell him it wasn't right.

Because if there are tensions at home again and again,

I don't feel good about it.

I want everybody to live happily.

When they fought, they would both ask,

"Who do you want to live with?"

Who would we pick?

We want to live with both of them.

Once, Dad hit me with a big spoon.

I was very sick at the time.

So Mom felt very bad and asked Dad to

go to his mother's house and cool off.

He hasn't returned since.

Now everybody stays quiet at home.

Now everybody understands what life means.

It feels strange since Daddy has left.

Mummy's with us and that's all that matters to me.

When Daddy left, we faced a lot of problems.

We didn't have a single cent to spend.

Dad left us a lot of problems.

Strangers kept knocking at our door.

We called Dad and asked him to pay

people he owed but he didn't respond.

Then he stopped calling.

We used to live in Mira Road in a nice house.

The rents were very high there

and we didn't have the ability to pay.

We were evicted by the landlord.

So we moved to Nallasopara where the rents are low.

I had to drop out of 8th grade because we couldn't pay my fees.

So I started working temporarily at a bag shop in Borivali.

I made 300 rupees ($5) a day, which I thought was good.

My sister and I were the eldest at home

and had to take care of everything.

My brothers and other sister were very young.

So both of us looked for jobs.

Saba worked at a clinic and I worked at a call center.

I used to wear a niqab and stay home.

I never even stepped out.

I never imagined that I would work.

All of my dad's responsibilities are now mine.

I worked at a dental clinic for a salary of 4000 rupees ($65).

I took an advance from them and handled things.

Kaikasha also started working. Then slowly we recovered.

In our Muslim caste if a girl works,

everybody incriminates her.

I always worried that people would say this and that.

But people don't take care of my house!

People don't pay my rent. People don't buy my groceries.

People don't do anything for me. I have to.

In a way, after stepping out,

I've learned so much about the world.

If you don't know anything, you're easily taken for a ride.

It's important to learn this in order to live.

A lot of women face these difficulties.

I meet many troubled women on the train.

I don't think there is a solution to this.

My little sister got married and now lives here

with her child. I'm also responsible for them.

I got my third daughter married.

It was a hard time for us but she received

a proposal, so we got her married.

Actually, I told Mummy not to get her married.

Because I didn't feel good about her husband or in-laws.

Just after the marriage, her in-laws started acting up.

Right from the beginning,

my sister-in-law used to harass me.

One time there was a big fight on the street.

Her husband called her outside and slapped her very hard.

Heena became unconscious and fell to the ground.

Then Heena's elder brother started fighting.

He said, "If you touch her, I'll break your arm."

When I tried to stop the fight, my sisters-in-law showed up.

One pulled my hair and the other kicked my stomach.

Both families went to the police station and filed reports.

The policeman told them, "Don't you know she's pregnant?"

"If something happens to her, you'll be jailed."

So they handed Heena's custody to me in writing.

I don't know. I don't understand how it happened.

When I had done blood tests in my second month,

nothing had shown up.

But when I did tests at the Bhagavathi Hospital,

the doctors told me that I had just been infected.

I didn't even know what HIV was.

When she was pregnant,

she had to get some standard tests done.

The next day, reports showed that she had HIV.

My husband and Mummy were crying.

I said, "What's the matter? Please tell me."

Then everyone told me and I cried as well.

I wondered why it happened to me.

There is no cure for it here.

People say there's a cure in America,

but we don't have the ability to go there.

After hearing this, my mother-in-law said,

"Why should I spoil my son's life?"

She implied that I should leave.

People think of bad things when they hear HIV.

"There must be something wrong with the girl."

"She must be up to something."

Her husband didn't have HIV.

Then how did she get it?

She didn't use a blade or anything.

He must have it for her to get it.

But he says he doesn't.

Saba and I have never seen his test results.

Maybe Mummy has seen them, I don't know.

How did she get HIV? Because of him of course.

Who else could do it? She doesn't even go out.

And I got her married so young.

Then?

We have taken care of everything

from her delivery to the child's expenses.

Her in-laws only went to the

hospital when the child was born.

And instead of seeing the child first, the husband

first asked the doctor whether the child had HIV.

Now he's in jail.

In my last month of pregnancy, doctors told me,

"You'll have a C-section because of the HIV."

One doctor told me,

"In the first six months of your pregnancy

the HIV tests will continue to say positive."

"But if you check after six months,

the test results could be different."

In the first six months, we kept praying...

but the tests always said positive.

There is a shrine here in Santa Cruz.

I prayed there for 40 days in my last phase of pregnancy.

If I prayed with all my heart maybe

I would get what I asked for.

I asked that the delivery be normal...

and everything be okay.

And the delivery was normal.

We tested the child and the tests were normal.

This was a miracle.

I made a promise that if I became okay,

if my results were normal,

I would return to the Ratlam mosque.

I've been having recurring dreams that I'm at Ratlam.

I've asked a lot of people why I'm having such dreams.

I've even asked many reputed religious scholars.

They say, "It means that your prayer has been fulfilled."

"You should go and get tested." I said, "Yes, I should."

- Why haven't you?

I'm scared of what the results might be.

It's like what they say, "Fate takes people in directions

that are often impossible for them to even imagine."

The people who know think it's better

for Heena to get a divorce.

They say, "She is so young."

"Who can even tell that she is married?"

Once divorced, I've told her, "If you find

somebody you like, I can get you married."

But she says, "I don't want to get married."

That's fine. It's her choice.

Today, I stand on my own two feet

and I'm able to support my family.

I plan on saving enough to buy Mummy a house

or at least lease one.

And then I'll get married.

I'm already engaged.

My fiancé has told me, "I'll allow you

to work even after marriage."

So I can continue to support Mummy.

My fiancé is nice enough to say,

"Think about your family before me."

With his support and my family's support...

God willing, I'll succeed.

Kaikasha says, "I'll only marry a man who

lets me play cricket, even after marriage."

But all she ever talks about is

cricket, cricket, cricket, cricket.

Sometimes I think that because of the problems at home,

I have a hard time playing cricket.

But I can't leave cricket.

When I love it so much, why should I?

I even quit my old job for it.

Now, I do scoring for MCA matches and private matches.

There's umpiring and scoring,

and they've increased the pay for both.

So when I can make 1000 rupees ($15) a day doing this,

why struggle doing anything else?

From Monday to Friday, I have my own

coaching and practice time.

And for a month, I coach at the BPCL ground.

I pray that she is successful.

By God's grace, she won so many trophies

and it made me very happy.

What my brother didn't do, my sister did.

I'll go play cricket even if I'm sick.

I don't think I'm a role model for anyone.

But people do say, "It's nice that you're still playing."

"I'm thinking about playing too."