Actor Soni Razdan has expressed her disappointment at the casting of non age-appropriate actors to play sharpshooting grandmothers in the film Saand Ki Aankh. Her comments come just a day after actor Neena Gupta raised similar concerns.
Soni told The Quint, “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?” Saand Ki Aankh stars Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles. Both actors are in their 30s, while the characters they play on screen are supposed to be older than 60. “This makes no sense. I think it’s about authenticity. Would The Kominsky Method have worked with 30-year-olds? It’s just silly beyond a point. I don’t know the script and that’s not for me to suppose. I’m just saying that all this talk of Bollywood breaking out of the stereotype is rubbish. If this is what we are back to in the end. One film – Badhaai Ho – doesn’t mean a stereotype has been broken,” Soni said.
“Of course I do get that Anupam was cast as a 60-year-old in Saaransh when he was young. And that made his career. So it’s not fair to limit a director when making a film as well. Having said that, older actors are so limited in what they get these days so one can’t help feeling this,” she added.
Previously, Neena had written in a tweet that she would like for the film industry to cast age-appropriate actors for older roles. Replying to a tweet in which a person had wondered how the film would’ve turned out had Neena and Shabana Azmi been cast in the lead roles, she wrote, “Yes, I was just thinking about this. Hamari umar ke role toe kamsekam humse kara lo bhai (At least cast us for the role that suit our age)”.Neena told The Quint, “It’s a business – they have to take who is good for the project. Maybe they (older actors) don’t sell.” She wrote on Twitter, “I liked the trailer, #SaandKiAankh and I have great respect for both the actors @bhumipednekar @taapsee. Chalo let’s wish the film good luck also to #AnuragKashyap who I am very fond of, chalo apna time ayega (our time will come).”
Seema Pahwa, who starred in Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, said, “They (filmmakers) don’t want take any chance with aged (sic) actors. They feel safe at the box office with young actors or stars. They don’t want us because we don’t have any market, but I am sure they (Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu) both are talented, so they give justice to the role.”