Women in sports were scorned at till a few years ago, WPL and UP Warriorz have helped turn the tables.
Mumbai: The third season of the WPL is upon us, and while the players are busy gearing up for the tournament, the UP Warriorz camp have launched ed a very special campaign, “Papa ki Warriorz” which is an ode to all the fathers supporting their daughters’ journey in pursuing their dreams and breaks gender stereotypes in our day-to-day colloquial references.
The film has been directed by Uzher Khan, and produced by Surfboard Films. The campaign is aimed at smashing the stereotypes that look down upon women-specially pursuing dreams in the field of sports. It highlights the role of fathers and family support for daughters pursuing their dreams. Women have for long faced the odds, whether it be emotional, societal or physical. However, through crisp storytelling, the campaign aims to drive home the fact that these challenges have made women stronger and empowered. For these girls, challenges only make the drive to succeed stronger
While women in sports were scorned at till a few years ago, WPL and UP Warriorz have helped turn the tables. The journey has been nothing short of incredible as women athletes and leaders have broken multiple glass ceilings. And all of this with the unwavering support from their fathers and families.
The powerful campaign features UP Warriorz players Deepti Sharma, Saima Thakor, Kiran Navgire, Uma Chetry, and Vrinda Dinesh, who are smashing it out in the training, landing a message to those who doubted them and the opponents at WPL season 3.
Captained by Deepti Sharma, the UP Warriorz are one of the founding teams in the WPL. This season marks the first time UP Warriorz will be playing at home in Lucknow, at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium. The UP Warriorz will play the Gujarat Giants (March 3), Mumbai Indians (March 6) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (March 8) in Lucknow.
The UP Warriorz start their WPL Season 3 campaign against the Gujarat Giants on February 16 in Vadodara.
Speaking on the occasion, Jinisha Sharma, Director, Capri Sports, said, “Papa ki Warriorz is personal—not just for me, but for every player on this team. We’ve all had our fathers shape our journeys, stand by us, and believe in us when others doubted. Society is still patriarchal, but allyship matters, and many of our fathers have been our biggest allies. ‘Papa ki Pari’ has often been seen as a dismissive label, implying entitlement. But we’re flipping that. If it means knowing what we want and going after it with everything we have, then we wear it with pride. We’ve worked for this, we’ve earned this, and we belong here.”
Campaign Film –