Taapsee Pannu Spoke About The Age Controversy Around Saand Ki Aankh And We Think She Has A Point

When you’re in the business of cinema, I feel that age is just a number. It’s not like you can only play the roles that match your real-life age. An actor can take up any character, as long as they have the skill set to do justice to it. I mean Deepika Padukone will be essaying the role of an acid-attack survivor. But is she one? Shah Rukh Khan played the role of a college student in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai when clearly he was not even remotely close to being that young. So while Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar are getting major shade from certain people for being cast for the roles of older women, we think that’s completely unnecessary. Especially when both Taapsee and Bhumi seem to have pulled it off well, why does it matter that they are way younger? While this has been going on ever since the trailer of Saand ki Aankh dropped, Taapsee recently opened up about the negative reactions they have received.

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In an interview to Deccan Chronicle, the Manmarziyaan actress sarcastically commented on the criticism she received from Soni Razdan, Neena Gupta and Rangoli Chandel about the age controversy in the movie. “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,” Taapsee said. That’s a great point. If they wouldn’t have cast young actresses, how would they show their youth? There are many actors who would’ve just kept mum but we’ve known Taapsee to give it back and with much wit.

Yes i was just thinking about this hamari umar ke role toe kamsekam humse kara lo bhai https://t.co/6Fmrxn0HbE

— Neena Gupta (@Neenagupta001) September 24, 2019

Let’s recap a bit, shall we? This controversy sparked when Rangoli Chandel found it important for her to pull down Taapsee. Of course, we aren’t surprised because recent history says she treats it like a hobby. She took to Twitter to say that this role was originally offered to Neena Gupta who suggested Taapsee’s and Ramya Krishnan’s name originally even though she loved the story line. Rangoli goes on to blame the “deep-rooted sexism” in Bollywood for casting two younger actors. Neena Gupta also commented saying that for roles of older women they should cast older actresses. We understand where Neena Gupta is coming from and that’s completely alright. But does Taapsee deserve this shade? No, it’s not her fault that she didn’t refuse such a lucrative opportunity.

Also Read: Taapsee Pannu Hits Back With A Heartfelt And Befitting Reply To Rangoli Chandel On Saand Ki Aankh Casting

Soon after this, in an interview with Quint, Soni Razdan said, “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?” That’s the thing about cinema. This is not the first time someone has portrayed a character of an age they aren’t in real life. In fact, it’s not even a rare phenomenon. Sure, there should be more opportunities for older actors but you really can’t make a guideline for art.

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She also said that the reason she was attracted to the script was because the script reminded her of her own mother. “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,” Taapsee revealed.

In the movie Saand Ki Aankh, Taapsee and Bhumi are portraying the characters of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, two women who became sharpshooters in their 60s.

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https://thehauterfly.com/lifestyle/bhumi-pednekar-talks-about-saand-ki-aankh-addressing-womens-inequality-in-india-yes-finally/