By Rituparna Sengupta Basu
Recently Tapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar came to Delhi for the promotions of their biographical movie Saand Ki Aankh. The film directed by Tushar Hiranandani and produced by Anurag Kashyap, Reliance Entertainment and Nidhi Parmar. The film is based on the lives of sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. Expresso caught these charming personalities to know more about the film and their character in deep.
Expresso: Both of you have played an old age character, so how this character is different from the others you have portrayed?
Bhumi: The old ladies that we have played in the movie are looking very beautiful and I am quite sure that we will look this beautiful when we grow old. Even the makeup that we have got in the movie looks real and beautiful too. Earlier we have played a lot of different characters but till date, I feel that this character is one of the most special and unique ones.
Picture Courtesy: Honey Kundra
Taapsee: So, the characters that we play over here are absolutely special. I have never played such an intense character earlier. For me, this would be the most special character as of now. People have given so much love to us and our work that we will remember it in our future. I even told my mother whether she will be there or not when I will reach the age of sixty or seventy, she can see me in this makeover in the movie.
Expresso: Both of you are from different backgrounds, one of you is having a Marathi accent, and the other one is having a Punjabi accent. Did you face any problem while speaking the Haryanvi language?
Picture Courtesy: Honey Kundra
Bhumi: Well, I am half Haryanvi and half Marathi but I can’t speak Haryanvi language at all and as I stay in Bombay so I am very much kind of Bombay girl. But we have put in a lot of effort for almost two and a half months for this film.
Taapsee: I am from Delhi and from my childhood I have heard about different accents like Haryanvi accent, UP accent, Punjabi accent since you can hear these accents in Delhi most often. So this to some extent helps, but still, we have to put in efforts for the movie and the credit goes to our tutors, and we want to give the credit to them on the right time.
Expresso: How did you guys prepare yourself for this movie?
Bhumi: These women were forced to lead a tough life since they were little. This is something that has helped them to sport up so well and they picked up the gun, and it was a bull’s eye. They are used to these things as you must have seen in the movie that in one shot we are threading a needle, ploughing fields which have helped them to give a huge contribution to this sport.
Taapsee: Yes, they had to carry jugs as well as bricks in their hands to make them steady since it is their training which helped them a lot. At first, we picked up the guns only, but then our coach instructed us to lift weights just like the old women use to do to make their hands steady.
picture courtesy: Honey Kundra
Expresso: Which qualities from your perspective can attract the audience?
Taapsee: I was looking forward to work in a film where there will be two heroines so I started searching for a script where two actresses will have equal roles and the movie will not have any hero. No one would be fighting for the hero and none other than the two heroines would be the hero of the movie. Immediately after reading the script I was sure not to leave this jackpot movie. I feel that the zeal to achieve the target and that no gender should be considered weak to achieve anything all of these messages will surely attract people more. Also, it is a full U certificate movie so people from age five to fifty can definitely watch this. You can watch this movie with your family during this festive season.
Expresso: The story of the movie began from this village Jori which is located in Baghpat. Even you stayed over there for over a month with the two old ladies on whom the movie is about. How was your experience staying over there with them?
Taapsee: It was a luxury for us altogether. They use to bring fresh vegetables for us, and use to cook them in the kitchen, offered fresh butter and also, the environment and the surrounding air was so fresh which was kind of luxury for us from our point of view. As we mostly stay in five-star hotels so this was something different and luxury for us.
Expresso: There are so much of things people are talking about you, the movie and the role on social media. How both of you guys tackle it?
Bhumi: We are happy and filled with gratitude that the film is getting the kind of appreciation that it deserves to get and we had hoped for. It rarely happens that a film opens in about fifty-five screenings and more than five thousand people have watched our movie which is quite surprising.
Also, people love this film because it is very entertaining since if thought in the other way then this movie could have given some message. I am sure that you people have even cried while watching the movie since what we have heard about. As you are the audience, I can confidently say that this movie is bound to bring some motivating power and induce in you the zeal to achieve anything. It would be special for both of us since we have gathered a lot of courage while doing the movie at this age, as it is a tribute to all the mothers.
Taapsee: Within one week we have made everyone to watch the film, give us feedback, made everyone to spread the word of mouth because we believe in our film and we think that it should be seen by as many people as possible. We are confident about the film and now people are giving more love than anything else on social media.
Expresso: What is the message which both of you has given through the characters Chandro and Prakashi in the movie? What message they have given through the film?
Taapsee: They have said ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, Beti Khilao’, then ‘Agar Himmat Kare Insaan Toh Unki Sahaita Kare Bhagwaan. These two to three lines are the message which they have tried to communicate to the audience through their life. These will help you to keep you happy and motivated throughout.
