The trailer of Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Saand Ki Aankh dropped recently, and has garnered more than 14 million views. The film, produced by Anurag Kashyap and Nidhi Parmar under the banner of Reliance Entertainment, will be helmed by writer Tushar Hiranandani; it marks his directorial debut. He wrote the story for the well-known Masti franchise and has also worked on the screenplay and story of the ABCD franchise, among other movies. The film recreates the incredibly inspiring stories of Prakashi Tomar and Chandro Tomar, two of the oldest sharpshooters in the world.
The trailer begins with Prakash Jha holding a rifle in hand, addressing how guns are no child’s play. He goes on to say that men who adorn them look the best. Following this, several shots of women doing household chores and working on the fields are shown. We then get to see Bhumi and Taapsee firing guns and striking the bull’s eye, witnessed by a bemused Vineet Kumar, who later becomes their coach. The two, along with their granddaughters undergo training secretly, without paying heed to the people around. Their dreams are stamped upon, along with their medals, and, in one scene, when the coach asks them what they eat to gain such marksmanship, Taapsee replies: “Insults”.
The trailer was launched at a popular mall in Malad, Mumbai. It was released on Twitter by the team soon after.
Here it is… our labour of love …
But this one is dedicated to all the mothers….#SaandKiAankh https://t.co/UPViMsyTMB— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) September 23, 2019
Shaad Randhawa also plays a significant role in the film. Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti cranks the camera, Vishal Mishra composes the music and Devendra Murdeshwar is in charge of editing.
They never fail to surprise us and they never fail to put a smile on our faces! ?
Here are the dadis talking about #SaandKiAankh. Trailer out on September 23. pic.twitter.com/K99IpNEvfn— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) September 21, 2019
Ever since the trailer dropped, the team has been receiving a lot of appreciation from fans and the film fraternity. Likewise, it has also been receiving an equal share of opposition for casting actors who don’t belong to the age group of the film’s characters. It began with an individual Nikhil, and then went viral when Badhaai Ho star Neena Gupta replied to it. Later, Rangoli Chandel, Kangana Ranaut’s manager and sister who has always had a thing to say about Taapsee, got involved.
This movie is a massive disservice to achievers like @realshooterdadi and @shooterdadi as the movie is based on their lives. Both started their careers after crossing 60 shattering all stereotypes surrounding gender and age becoming role models to all women in the country…
— Nikhil Sharma (@snikhil445) September 23, 2019
Dear Nikhil it’s heartbreaking to see how our media first killed MeToo in India now making a joke out of feminism, Vikas Bahl and the director of this movie wanted Kangana to do this film, she clearly told them to cast older woman and fight agism and sexism in Bollywood…(contd) https://t.co/b9OYntv9f8
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 24, 2019
(contd)…Even today Kangana feel Ramya krishnan and Neena Gupta ji would have been a far better option, and they have a great market value, why can’t they be mainstream actresses ??when I call these people sasta ….(contd)
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 24, 2019
These people who want to be Kangana Ranaut must know her brand is entirely based on sacrifice and the larger purpose, other day I listed all the films she said no to,we all want to be her but let’s get the essence of her spirit, her success is a consequence of her values..(contd)
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 24, 2019
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
Taapsee Pannu released a statement in response to the arguments on social media.
I hope and can only hope this will answer the question once n for all coz honestly now it’s getting boring for us to repeat ourselves.
So all you lovely people here goes my RESPONSE –#SaandKiAankh pic.twitter.com/guldaTWaks— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) September 24, 2019
In June, just before the release of Kangana’s Judgmental Hai Kya, Rangoli called Taapsee a ‘sasti copy’ who tried to imitate Kangana in all her choices. Anurag Kashyap, who directed Taapsee in Manmarziyan, came to her defence too, but Taapsee chose to step away from the argument after a point. Despite Taaspee’s statement, Rangoli has now prolonged the argument further.
Acting ka A bhi nahin aata & comparing urself to all legends ?bhai ja thodi acting seekh le tacky silver hair & sasta prosthetic won’t make u an actor,wat about body language f a 60 year old? Where is the aged voice?Longing fr gone youth in one’s eyes?Where is acting ?So funny! https://t.co/zQMWbcbIzl
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) September 24, 2019
Saand Ki Aankh was recently nominated for the ‘People’s Choice Award’ at the Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival (PYIFF) held at China. It is slated for release on 25 October 2019.
Watch the trailer here.
Meanwhile, Taapsee who was last seen in Jagan Shakti’s Mission Mangal will be seen in Anubhav Sinhaa’s Thappad and Akarsh Khurana’s Rashmi Rocket, which are in different stages of production. Her last release in the South, Game Over, won critical and commercial acclaim.
Bhumi Pednekar, last seen in Lust Stories and Sonchiriya, is working on films such as Bhanu Pratap Singh’s Bhoot Part One: The Haunted Ship and Amar Kaushik’s Bala, both set to hit the screens soon.
