Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu's upcoming film Saand Ki Aankh recently received criticism by actors like Soni Razdan, Neena Gupta and Seema Pahwa. Reacting over the idea of a young woman essaying the role of a 60-year-old, Taapsee told Deccan Chronicle that perhaps she should only play characters of Delhi girls her age.
She said, “Ek kam karti hoon main acting karna chhod deti hoon (I will do one thing, I will stop acting), and only play characters of my age and girls from Delhi. We are actors, so should we stop acting? As an actor, I will sometimes play characters of different ages. We should stop being camera actors, I think. I know it’s not an easy visual, as these women pick up guns at the age of 60, and the film showcases their story from half of their current ages.”
Soni Razdan was quoted by The Quint in an interview saying, “I love both these actors honestly but I mean why? I get there is something called box office draw but then why make a film on 60-year-olds if you can’t cast the real ones?” On the other hand, Neena Gupta had earlier said, “It’s a business – they have to take who is good for the project. Maybe they (older actors) don’t sell.”
Taapsee said that criticism doesn't bother her. She said, “I was pretty happy about being criticized for playing an aged person at this juncture of my film career. Perhaps people have seen me in different young roles, so they are unable to digest it.”
“While I was hearing the script, my reference point was my mother. I literally cried for 2 hours, as every moment reminded me of my mother. As my reel mother would say: I will not let my girls spend life as I did, and if I have to pick up the gun at 60 to do it, then I will," she added.
Saand Ki Aankh also stars Bhumi Pednekar. It revolves around the story of two octogenarians, who became champion sharpshooters after the age of 60. The film is produced by Anurag Kashyap and Nidhi Parmar and is scheduled to hit theatres on October 25.
