Co-star Viineet Kumar backs casting of Taapsee, Bhumi as 60-year-olds in Saand Ki Aankh
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; October 4, 2019)

Even as select veteran actors, including Neena Gupta, had questioned the decision of the makers of Saand Ki Aankh to rope in young female actors for the role of 60-year-old sharp shooters Chandro and Prakshi Tomar, cast member Viineet Kumar Singh says the trend isn’t new in cinema.

“There have been many films that had young actors portraying older characters. Saaransh [Anupam Kher], Lamhe [Anil Kapoor] and Lincoln [Daniel Day-Lewis], are a few of them. All of these actors were appreciated. I’d urge people to make a judgement after watching the film, instead of harbouring any pre-conceived notions,” says Singh, who slips into the role of a coach to the shooters, played by Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar.

Singh, who’s last release Bard Of Blood has received mixed reviews, says he has been receiving praise for his small but vital act of a RAW intelligence officer sent on a covert mission to Balochistan, in the Netflix offering. “I was looking forward to doing something on a streaming platform for a while. With this offering, I could see that my character, Veer, had something important [to offer].”

For Singh, green-lighting a Shah Rukh Khan production was also nostalgic. He recalls how as a participant of a reality show 17 years ago, he had received praise from Khan for his “zabardaast” act. “So, doing this show felt like an achievement.”

Singh has the Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Gunjan Saxena biopic, and another Netflix show, Betaal, in the pipeline.