Onkar Kulkarni (BOMBAY TIMES; October 12, 2019)

Taapsee Pannu is known for taking on roles that push her limits. And roles that definitely break stereotypes of female characters on screen — whether it is playing the freespirited, feisty Rumi in Manmarziyaan or the edgy and manipulative businesswoman in Badla, she is fearless on screen. Off-screen, too. No wonder, she convincingly steps into the role of a woman in her sixties and gives it her all. Whether it is learning the local dialect or living the rural life for real, Taapsee goes all out to do justice to every courageous role she picks. In an interview with BT, the actress talks about the time she spent with sharpshooter Prakashi Tomar (who she is portraying on screen in Saand Ki Aankh), her prep for the role and why she’s glad she took a shot at this, in spite of all odds. Read on...

For Saand Ki Aankh, not only did you have to train to play a sharpshooter, but you also took on the daunting task of stepping into the shoes of Prakashi Tomar, who is much older than you. Was the prep for this movie the toughest so far?
This film is critical for Bhumi (Pednekar) and me, and is one of the most challenging films of our careers. We knew this was going to be an aar ya paar kind of scenario. Either people will laugh at us, or remember us for years. Having said that, hum fail bhi huye toh kya hua, at least, mehnat toh ki.

How did you transform yourself into Prakashi Tomar?
When I came on board, I thought I should focus on learning to shoot first, since my character is of that of a sharpshooter. Also, since childhood, I was extremely bad at games that had anything to do with aiming at a target, like darts. Forget hitting the bull's eye, my dart wouldn’t even come anywhere close to the board (laughs!). While I took the time to learn, Bhumi was good at it. As the training progressed, I realised that shooting was probably the easiest of things to learn to get into Prakashi’s shoes. There is a lot more to her personality than the sport she plays. The difficult part was to blend into the village lifestyle. These women (Prakashi and Chandro) had never stepped out of their village before they started shooting. They were always in a ghungat, dressed in ghagra and oodhni, and doing household chores. It took Bhumi and me some time to learn to manage the ghagra. Apart from the costumes, we had to learn to do house chores like milking of the cows, making makkhan and cutting the hay. Since my character owns a family business of making bricks, we also had to learn to pile up a set of bricks and then balance it on our heads.

There was also another challenge — to get their dialect correct, right?
We had to bridge the gap between khadi boli and Hindi. Khadi boli is the local dialect spoken by people from western UP. It is not Haryanvi, but a crossover between Hindi and Haryanvi. Though I trained for it in Mumbai, my language improved only when I went to Johri (Uttar Pradesh) when I interacted with the locals. This is exactly how I used to prep myself for my south projects, too. What also helped me was that I stayed with Chandro dadi in her house in UP.

Did you enjoy living the rural life?
I stayed at Chandro dadi’s home for over a month during the shooting. Both the dadis live next to each other. Chandro dadi was very sweet, and she moved out of her own room to accommodate me. The medals and trophies she had won adorned her room, and I used to wake up and see those. Throughout my stay, she ensured that I was being taken care of very well. A bucket of hot water would be ready for my bath every morning, as well as when I returned home in the evening. Considering I love ghee, they would get me a lot of homemade fresh makkhan. Not only the family, but people from the neighbourhood, too, would get food for me. My breakfast used to come from one house, lunch from the other and dinner from a third home. For a few weeks, my mom also came and stayed with me. She used to come on the sets for only a few minutes and then leave early to spend maximum time with the dadis. In fact, she is still in touch with them.

There has been heavy use of prosthetics in the movie, take us through the process of how they turned you into a 60-year-old?
That was a very time-consuming process. It took us three hours to look like our characters. The process of prosthetics tested my patience. I can't sit in one place for a long time as I am extremely restless. So here I was, on the sets, and sitting for three hours every day for a span of 50 days to get ready for the shoot. They used to pull my facial skin and put latex on. It would take some time to dry. It’s like some surgery happening on your face every day. Not only this, we were given fake breasts to wear as we played older women. We used to keep all this on for 10-12 hours a day. It took time to get used to it. Removing prosthetics at the end of the shoot would take one whole hour.

The film was apparently first offered to Kangana Ranaut. She turned it down and then, you came on board. Is that correct?
The makers must have gone to Kangana for this role; actually, they went to half the industry as they received bizarre reasons (from actresses who turned down the project). As far as I am concerned, the makers never approached me. When I got to know that such a film was being planned, I personally reached out to them. I have no shame in admitting that. I told them that I wanted to do it. Meanwhile, it took us two years to find the parallel female lead.

With Bhumi and you playing the 60-year-olds, it has sparked a conversation online about how a slightly older actor could have been cast for the part.
Yes, Taapsee and Bhumi are not 60 years old, agreed, but then what is an actor’s job? If I have to portray myself on-screen in every film then I should stop calling myself an actor. I should just be a Taapsee Pannu in every film. That way, the role of every 30-year-old Delhi girl or a sardarni, should be played by me. If I am an actor, then it is my job to transform myself in every film. Therefore, I feel it is a completely stupid debate that is going on. I feel sad when it comes from other actors. Frankly speaking, it is a role that you can kill for. I am happy I did it.

Revolver Dadi Prakashi (left) and Shooter Dadi Chandro Tomar

In their first-ever in-depth interview, the Tomar sisters, whose biopic will be out soon, speak about how they shot bull's eye at first attempt, how they were mocked and overcame all odds
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 25, 2019)

I was surviving on four hours of sleep and strong black coffee while making the cumbersome journey to a Malad hotel for this interview. But it was well worth the effort. Welcomed by the bounciest 80-year-old I could ever come across, the meeting was, in every way, an uplifting one. Prakashi Tomar, one half of the Shooter Dadi duo touted as the world's oldest sharpshooters, greeted us with the cheeriest namaste.

"I had gone to enrol my granddaughter for a sharp shooting class at a local range. It is there that I learnt the magic of shooting; how to load a gun, and shoot. One day on a whim, I wanted to try it out, and I hit the bull's eye with the first shot," starts off Prakashi with an unmistakeable beam on her face.

The story of Prakashi and sister-in-law Chandro Tomar — touted as the world's oldest women sharpshooters — is surreal. The muses of Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar's upcoming film, Saandh Ki Aankh, picked up the ropes of shooting effortlessly. It came to them naturally. "Having worked on farms, we were physically strong. We would grind gehu by hand in a chakki. Our wrist and arms were stronger than we knew," Prakashi says.

The duo shot to fame following an episode of Satyamev Jayate, after being invited by host Aamir Khan. After that, interview offers kept pouring in for the unlikely shooters. Chandro, who is ailing from a broken hip injury sustained two weeks ago, tells us over a phone call, "People would laugh at us. We were two old hags who had taken to a sport that is not even [popular] in our part of the world. Local women would mock us saying we are preparing for [the] Kargil [war]. But we found support in our children. Our sons have been our pillars of strength. They supported us emotionally, as well as with monetary requirements." Did they find support in their husbands? "No. Not a single day."

Travelling from Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and then Chennai, the sisters were evidently worn out by the tournaments. "Most of our contemporaries were significantly younger than us. It was awkward, but we didn't encounter a single mean remark. We would always chat up a storm with people. Monetarily, though, it was draining. We had to purchase rifles and bullets, and also spend on our practice. There was no support from local or sports authorities. I recall, Rahul Gandhi sent us two rifles, which helped us win many matches. We practically made it on our own," says Prakashi.

Our chat is infused with many spirited moments as they take us through their journey of breaking the shackles of patriarchy. "We didn't give a damn about the world. We went from tournament to tournament, winning medals. Life before 60 and after 60 didn't seem much different, apart from the fact that we were able to find our own [voice]. It is important to create your identity beyond chula and chaukha. We've taught our girls the same, and today [Prakashi's] granddaughter is a professional shooter and an inspector in the Haryana police force," Chandro says.

They claim that the world could have deterred them, had it not been for their sense of self-assurance. "We were 60, and physically worn out. But, will-power is bigger than anything else. We willed to do more than what we were expected to, which is to have a family, raise kids and perform household chores. Age is a number; the strength of your spirit is what matters," adds Chandro.

Ask them if parting with their story was a tough call, and Chandro say, "We had never thought that our life story would inspire a movie." Prakashi adds, "We lapped up the idea when it came our way. The filming took place in our village, Johri. The cast and crew of the film were protected by us. Even now, we face opposition from locals because we are forward-thinking individuals. [After watching us], girls from the village actively started pursuing athletics, shooting and education."

Pannu, who plays Prakashi, was the first to come aboard the film. She was later joined by Pednekar, who essays Chandro. "The girls stayed with us in our huts, and became our own. They didn't behave like actresses who couldn't manage themselves. They were solid girls; living on their own terms. Every day, there were requests of dishes that they want to eat — shahi paneer, matar paneer, dal subzi. The girls and the crew ate with us," says Chandro.

The shooter dadis hope that the film puts the spotlight on the fate of athletes in India. As far as they are concerned, they've already deciphered how to do their bit for athletes like them.

"We want to start a shooting range. There's a plot in Meerut that we have shortlisted, and we need sponsors and government support to go ahead. We hope this film enables us to get that. We aim to be coaches and train young girls so that they may have the opportunity to realise their dreams. We are often invited by teachers in local schools. We want to tell young girls that the world is their playground. Times have changed; in this era, girls are better than the boys," Chandro signs off.

55+
No. of tournaments the sisters have won since 1999




Chandro Tomar and Prakashi Tomar

Production designer of Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar's sharpshooter biopic Saand Ki Aankh on recreating 10-meter range in Johri
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; September 2, 2019)

Given the adulation they receive in their hometown, the Tomar sisters were able to create a smooth inroad for the makers of Saand Ki Aankh into Uttar Pradesh's Johri. Having access to the village, and, of course, the homes of former sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar implied that production designer Ravi Srivastava could seamlessly recreate their world for the upcoming Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar starrer. But he was plagued with another task.

"The film had to look realistic, but Tushar [Hiranandani, director] envisioned it as a commercial movie. To strike a balance between those two elements was key. The subject is not of a masala potboiler, even though Tushar has grown up on an appetite of commercial films. People don't know about shooting; cricket and hockey are more popular [in India]. [I had to employ] elements to attract people to the film's drama."

In a bid to recreate the village that was home to India's brightest shooters, Shrivastava (left), credited for breathing life into films like Life Of Pi and Slumdog Millionaire, built a home from dilapidated houses. "As for the shooting range, while we mostly filmed at real ranges, we also created a small shooting range, employing six machines. The sisters gave us several insights into the sport, and cues on how we could set-up a 10-meter range. The manual shooting ranges have been used for the film's early scenes," says the designer, adding that local authorities provided them with sufficient aid to enhance their set.

Akash Bhatnagar (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 31, 2019)

After playing a feisty young girl in Manmarziyaan, a lawyer out to reclaim her family’s honour in Mulk and a businesswoman suspected of murder in Badla, Taapsee Pannu is gunning for glory. In Tushar Hiranandani’s directorial debut, Saand Ki Aankh, she plays Prakashi Tomar, one-half of the real-life revolver dadis from Uttar Pradesh, with Bhumi Pednekar’s Chandro Tomar.

As part of her prep, Taapsee arrived a few days earlier than the scheduled date in Johri, the village where the Tomar sisters-in-law reside, which also served as the film’s location.

The 31-year-old Delhi girl insists that the rustic surroundings were not alien to her. “While growing up, my family and I would go to our village in Punjab every year during vacations and festivals,” says the actress who reached the village a couple of days early to get acquainted with the surroundings, the people and the language. “I picked up some slangs too.”

Her daily ritual in Johri included picking fresh vegetables from the fields with Chandro daadi, who would then cook them. “She’d also get me fresh cow and buffalo milk,” the actress smiles, adding that another upside was getting to work out on the terrace and in the fresh air of early morning.

Describing the Tomars as “cool daadis”, the actress says she wanted to establish a fun, friendly equation with them instead of distancing them as grandmothers. “I lived in Chandro daadi’s house and spent time with Prakashi daadi at hers during lunch. We had long chat sessions. My grandmother who is the same age is unwell but Chandro daadi walks to the farm every day and does all the chores. Till I met her I used to think that it was difficult for someone who is around 89 to be physically active, but not anymore,” Taapsee signs off with a laugh.