Saand Ki Aankh makers received a lot of flak for featuring young actors Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar to play 60-year-olds in the film. Now, in an interview with Mid-Day the producer, without taking names, revealed that the team had approached several senior actors who turned down Shooter Dadis’ roles.
The first look of the film was released earlier this month, and social media criticised the makers for casting a young lot to play the country’s oldest women sharpshooters, 60-year-olds Chandro and Prakashi Tomar.
Addressing the criticism, co-producer Nidhi Parmar states that the team had approached nearly 15 senior actors for the role. “We approached actors in the age bracket of 55 to 60 since we felt the portrayals would be more convincing. However, most declined the role as they didn’t want to be seen in an unglamorous avatar, or felt that they weren’t ready for the physical preparation that the film demanded,” she says, refusing to name names. “Even younger actresses had the same concerns. Bhumi and Taapsee have shown a great deal of pluck in essaying a role that’s almost twice their actual age.”
Meanwhile, Taapsee says that it takes guts to age on-screen, especially since Bollywood is only fixated on the idea that young-is-beautiful. “I have played a college kid after turning 30, and no one questioned me then. Instead of making an issue, people should be surprised that we took up these roles, as there are few actors who take the risk of ageing on screen unapologetically.”
Bhumi Pednekar added that nothing should be off-limits for artists, citing some renowned examples from the film fraternity. She states, “In the past, people have played characters older than their age successfully. Anupam Kher in Saaransh (1984) and Nargis ji in Mother India (1957) are great examples. If we can play characters younger than our age, why can’t we play older characters as well?”
