Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; October 24, 2019)

While he has written about 20 films in his 15-year-long career, the label of being an expert with double-entendre comedy seems to have become his identity. Even as he wrote hit commercial films on various subjects for top directors, he had to wait for five years to make his debut as a director. In a chat with BT, Tushar Hiranandani talks about why he wrote sex comedies and why he chose a subject like Saand Ki Aankh for his first outing as a director. Excerpts...

It has taken you 15 years and about 20 films as a writer before landing your first project as a director. That must have been a long wait, right?
I always wanted to direct. In fact, I started assisting director Inder Kumar just to realise that dream. But back in the day, it felt like films are only made with stars, and assistants weren’t as close to them as writers. So, I wrote Masti (2004) without letting Inder sir know. Over the years, I would write stories thinking I would direct them, but would chicken out at the last minute. Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai (2010) was supposed to be my directorial debut, but I handed it over to Milap Milan Zaveri. I continued to find stories for others, but nothing that I wanted to go all out and direct. At the time I got to know about Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, my wife Nidhi and I were planning to quit, whereas these women became sharp-shooters at the age of 60 (Saand Ki Aankh is based on Chandro and Prakashi, who are considered to be among the oldest sharpshooters in the world). They turned a new leaf for the sake of their daughters. Prakashi’s daughter Seema became the first Indian girl to win a silver medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup. Today, nearly all the girls in the Tomar family have joined the police or the armed forces.

When you decided to make the film six years ago, the grammar of cinema was different from what you wanted to attempt. Did you feel that it was too much of a risk?
Tell me about it! This film revolves around two sixty-plus women. To top it, I, the writer of films like Masti, wanted to direct it. People thought that I had lost it. It’s destiny that this film found supporters, and today, it is ready for release. It was writer Sanjay Massoom, who put me in touch with the Tomar daadis. From that point, things began to fall in place. The first woman to support me on this film was my wife. She would never have supported me on Masti, but she went all out for Saand Ki Aankh. She even became one of the producers. Anurag (Kashyap) also continued to encourage me.

Do you think it was difficult for people to believe in your ability to handle a subject like Saand Ki Aankh because of the vulgar comedies you wrote earlier?
A lot of people think that Milap and I are some kind of perverts. People only see the beginning and the middle of the film. At the end of every Masti installment, we’ve shown the guys repenting for straying and getting punished. I have had to fight to include it in the script. When you’re starting out, you grab everything that comes your way without thinking much. After Masti, I wrote films like ABCD: Any Body Can Dance (2013) and Ek Villain (2014), too. But Masti was such a shocker of a first film that people labelled me with it. I hope Saand Ki Aankh changes that.

Do you regret the sex comedies you wrote?
I wrote sex comedies because they came to me. I had expenses to meet. Also, I enjoyed writing them, so there are no regrets. But I’ve matured now and I am doing different things. You know, even sex comedies or comedies around sex are being made differently today. Made In China, for instance, is a sex comedy, too. It offers a great take on sex and I am happy that today, people are curating films in such a way.

Saand Ki Aankh opens on Diwali with Housefull 4 and Made In China. Does the box office clash worry you?
Today, any well-made film runs at the box office. The producers backing my film are confident about it. What else can I ask for? If it’s a bad film, it will be rejected even if it releases solo. So, there’s no point fretting. I am just happy that my film is releasing, it has taken me 20 years to become a filmmaker.

Anurag Kashyap has been involved with this film since its inception. Was he ever tempted to take over as the director?
Anurag came on the set just once. He let me fly with the film, without making me change anything about it. He gave me confidence and there is nothing bigger than that. In fact, he was the one who pushed me to direct. When many people didn’t understand the title of the film, he backed me on it.

Your film has Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pedenkar in lead roles. Heroines are perceived to be insecure, especially when it comes to sharing screen space with another equally powerful actress. Did you sense that while working on this film?
Taapsee and Bhumi are like chalk and cheese. The only difference is that they complement each other and are similar to the women they play. They gave each other a lot of space. The team used to place bets saying, ‘Aaj to jhagda hoga’, but they didn’t fight. They didn’t ask us to change anything about the script or the division of scenes.

You started your career in the movies as a writer, the film industry has changed quite a bit over the years, with writers being well-acknowledged for their contribution to cinema. Would you say that it’s still the most underpaying field in the movie making business?
Writers are underpaid and undervalued. No one wants to know them, but it’s their content that sets everything up. If we don’t help them get their due, how will they ever get it? It’s like you love the granite in the building, but don’t thank the pillar for keeping it together. I’m glad that writers are finally getting their names on film posters now. Things are changing, but they could be better.

Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; October 3, 2019)

“I hated Womaniya as the title,” states director Tushar Hiranandani, taking us by surprise. After all, only months ago, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was at loggerheads with producer Pritish Nandy, who held the right to the name. Kashyap, producer of the film based on the lives of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar — the country’s oldest women sharpshooters, felt that the spirit of the biopic would be best captured by the title, Womaniya.

A war of words later, Kashyap decided to rechristen the Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar starrer as Saand Ki Aankh. “Anurag and Taapsee were keen on Womaniya. I always wanted to call it Saand Ki Aankh. When I told Anurag of the new title, he looked at me in disbelief. But when he read it [the script], he realised it was the best name the film could have got,” explains the first- time director.

In an interesting turn of events, the makers have included a song titled Womaniya. Hiranandani reasons that the song — that starts with Pannu and Pednekar in their youth — is instrumental to show their ageing process. “Womaniya is the journey of young girls as they reach their prime.”

Producer Nidhi Parmar adds, “When Vishal [Mishra, composer] made us hear Womaniya for the first time, everyone in the room felt that this would be the biggest song of the album.”

Even as he understands Kashyap’s keenness in naming the film after a term coined by him in Gangs Of Wasseypur ( 2012), Hiranandani reiterates that Saand Ki Aankh, or bull’s eye, has a stronger connect with the core subject of “hitting the right spot in life” — a perfect metaphor for a movie whose protagonists find their purpose in their 60s. “My movie is not about feminism alone, it’s about the fighting spirit of human beings. My hook point was that age is not a barrier. Women stood up at that age and inspired young girls to stand on their own feet. My writer Jagdeep [Sidhu] wove it beautifully in the dialogues.”

As the teaser of Saand Ki Aankh wins praise, director Tushar Hiranandani recounts his four-year struggle to give shape to the film on Revolver Dadis
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; July 12, 2019)

If one were to go by Bollywood's standard, Saand Ki Aankh is a clutter-breaking film. And as is the norm with any unconventional idea, the Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar starrer has had a cumbersome journey from the drawing board to the big screen.

As the film's teaser opened to praise yesterday, director Tushar Hiranandani says he has lived with the story of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar - the oldest women sharpshooters in the country - for the past four years. "I saw them on Aamir Khan's Satyamev Jayate. I had tears in my eyes when Chandro dadi said 'Tann buddha hota hai, mann buddha nahi hota hai'. I told Nidhi [Parmar, producer wife] that I will tell their story to the world."

For the debutant director, the gritty drama is a departure from the scripts he has previously penned, including Masti (2004) and Ek Villain (2014). "I have attempted every genre and I've enjoyed writing them all. As for Saand Ki Aankh, it wasn't an easy film to make. The casting was an insurmountable challenge. Taapsee and Bhumi were the only two actors who had the balls to say yes to this film. It took me fours year to get the project started. If it wasn't for Nidhi's belief in me, I would have given up. I had given up my well-paying job in Balaji [Telefilms] and had stopped writing films to start this movie. She supported me monetarily all through."

Having shown the gumption to base a film on two women in the autumn of their lives, Hiranandani hopes it sets a precedent. "People would assume that getting a producer [for such a project] would be hard, but Anurag Kashyap took care of everything. Whenever we met at parties, he would nudge me to become a director. So, when I met him at one party, I showed him an image of the two dadis holding the gun and told him that I want to make this movie. He said, then and there, 'I'm your producer'."

After Saand Ki Aankh team faces flak for casting Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar to play 60-year-olds, producer, without naming names, claims several senior actors turned down Shooter Dadis' roles
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; April 27, 2019)

When the first look of Saand Ki Aankh was released earlier this month, netizens criticised the makers for roping in Taapsee Pannu, 31, and Bhumi Pednekar, 29, to play the country's oldest women sharpshooters, 60-year-olds Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. In an industry where roles are unfortunately hard to come by for senior female artistes, detractors opined that the Anurag Kashyap-production should have stayed true to the story and cast age-appropriate actors.

Taking the critique head-on, co-producer Nidhi Parmar claims that the team had approached almost 15 senior actors for the role, before tapping the younger bracket. "We approached actors in the age bracket of 55 to 60 since we felt the portrayals would be more convincing. However, most declined the role as they didn't want to be seen in an unglamorous avatar, or felt that they weren't ready for the physical preparation that the film demanded," she says, refusing to name names. "Even younger actresses had the same concerns. Bhumi and Taapsee have shown a great deal of pluck in essaying a role that's almost twice their actual age."

On her part, Pannu says that it takes gumption to age on-screen, especially since Bollywood is obsessed with the idea of young-is-beautiful. "I have played a college kid after turning 30, and no one questioned me then. Instead of making an issue, people should be surprised that we took up these roles, as there are few actors who take the risk of ageing on screen unapologetically."

Pednekar echoes the sentiment, stating that no part should be off-limits for artistes. "In the past, people have played characters older than their age successfully. Anupam Kher in Saaransh (1984) and Nargis ji in Mother India (1957) are great examples. If we can play characters younger than our age, why can't we play older characters as well?"

Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 28, 2019)

Following the case of sexual harassment levied against co-owner Vikas Bahl, Phantom Films announced its dissolution last October. Three months since, erstwhile co-founder Anurag Kashyap appears to be struggling to get his individual ventures afloat. With Phantom out of the picture, we hear his forthcoming production — the Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Womaniya — has been put on the backburner.

Kashyap had managed to find support from producers Shibasish Sarkar and Nidhi Parmar for the biopic on UP-based octogenarian sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. However, escalating budgets have apparently put the trio in a spot.

A source tells mid-day, “Taapsee and Bhumi were to prep for a month, following which the film was to be shot in Uttar Pradesh. The movie required antique weapons that were proving to be [expensive] to source. The makers were breaching the budget. Also, given the indefinite delay, the actors eventually moved on to other projects. it will be tough to reschedule their dates now.”