Saand Ki Aankh: 15 senior actors turned down Taapsee and Bhumi's role because it is de-glam?

The first look of Saand Ki Aankh earned mixed review among movie buffs. some critics pointed by young actresses where made to enact roles of women aged above 60 when senior female artistes could have been cast

Putting also such criticism to rest, Nidhi Parmar, the co-producer of the film in a recent interaction with Mid-day said, no actresses were ready to take up a de-glam role. Nidhi was quoted as saying by the tabloid, "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."

Bhumi, 29, and Taapsee, 31, are playing world's oldest sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar in the upcoming Diwali release. The two women had picked up shooting when they were in their 60s.

Taapsee Pannu revealed that even when heroines are given meaty roles and female-oriented movies are doing great business, the film industry is obsessed with the idea of young being beautiful.

She added, "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."

Saying that no role should be off-limits for artistes, Bhumi added, "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?"

Directed by Tushar Hiranandani, who has previously written for the Masti and ABCD franchise, Saand Ki Aankh is slated to hit the theatres on October 25, 2019. The movie would also feature Prakash Jha and has been produced by Anurag Kashyap. 

Saand Ki Aankh was initially supposed to be titled Womaniya but after Pritish Nandy claimed rights for the title, Anurag Kashyap and his team decided to rename it that literally translates to 'bull's eye' in English. The movie will hit theatres this Diwali.