Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 7, 2019)

Anurag Kashyap recently announced on the social media that his Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar-starrer Womaniya will go on the floors on February 10. The film is being directed by debutant Tushar Hiranandani. Now, Mirror has learnt that the makers are at loggerheads with producer Pritish Nandy who has ‘Womaniya’ registered as a film title.

A source from the film’s team told Mirror that while Anurag had coined the term ‘Womaniya’ (there is a song by the name in his directorial Gangs of Wasseypur) and holds the Intellectual Property Rights to it, Nandy had registered it as a film title a while ago. “It was only when the makers announced the film that this came to light and when they went to officially register the title, it was brought to their notice that the title was already registered with PNC (Pritish Nandy Communications),” informed the source.

Anurag, when contacted by Mirror, said, “I don’t even know if it’s legal to do this. It’s like encroaching on someone’s property, then asking for an obscene amount of money to get off it. We have been politely requesting Nandy for the title for a very long time and have even consulted lawyers on the matter. We’ve been told that no one can hoard a title. But to get a censor certificate, the producers’ association has to register the title which makes the law contradictory. It’s strange that I have to fight for a word that we coined and brought into usage.”

He added that PNC wanted to use the title for a web series and didn’t end up doing so. “That series is out out with another title (Four More Shots Please). But they are just sitting on it because they know we want it for a film.”

Nandy responded by saying, “The title Womaniya is owned by Pritish Nandy Communications Ltd. PNC has registered this title with IMPPA (Indian Motion Pictures Producers’ Association), a trade body. PNC also has registered the title with the Trade Mark registry, Govt of India. Both IMPPA and FMC (Film Makers Combine) have written to Anurag Kashyap several times asking him not to use the title Womaniya illegally since its owned by PNC.”

When asked if Anurag had approached him for the title, he said, “Not that I know of.” 

In a first, the director takes on a role outside of his own project for the story of two female sharp-shooters; kicks off filming on Feb 10
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 30, 2019)

A few days ago, Anurag Kashyap refuted reports that his upcoming production, the tentatively titled Womaniya, is shelved by announcing that it goes on the floors on February 10. Now, Mirror has learnt that the makers have roped in Prakash Jha to play a pivotal role in the film, which is directed by Tushar Hiranandani and is headlined by Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar. It is the story of the world’s oldest female sharpshooters—Chandro Tomar, 86, and her sister-in-law, Prakashi, 81—who reside in the Johri village of western Uttar Pradesh.

“Besides his hard-hitting films, Prakash is known for his acting prowess and will be playing a villain in this film. He has loved the script and will start shooting with Taapsee and Bhumi from February 10. He is excited about the project. The actors have begun their prep,” informs a source close to the development.

Jha’s previous acting credits include his own 2016 directorial, the Priyanka Chopra-starrer Jai Gangaajal, in which he essayed the role of DSP Bhola Nath Singh. He also had a cameo in his 2010 multi-starrer Raajneeti. While speaking to Mirror earlier (June 11), lyricist Raj Shekhar who has penned six songs for Womaniya, had revealed that the story of its protagonists conveys a strong message—that life can begin even after 50.

Popularly known as the “Revolver Daadis”, Chandro and Prakashi first learnt of the sport when the former, then in her mid-50s, had accompanied her granddaughter to the Johri Rifle Club. The octogenarian-duo has since won over 100 medals in the veteran category across championships in the north zone and at pre-nationals. Prakashi’s awards include a Stree Shakti Puraskar by former President Pranab Mukherjee, a Women’s Achievers in India trophy and an Icon Lady Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

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.”

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; October 10, 2018)

Manmarziyaan director Anurag Kashyap is the hot favourite of the four Phantom boys who announced their split last week. Known as a maverick, he has his fan following among the audience. Anurag, who is reportedly recovering from some health issues, had his own production ready before the split. The movie will star Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar in the lead roles.

Says a source, “Anurag and his bankrolling partner are backing debutant director Tushar Hiranandani’s next, Womaniya. It is a biopic on octogenarian sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar.”

Our informer adds, “The two leading ladies shot for the first promotional poster yesterday. Shooting begins in February 2019 in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh.”

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 27, 2018)

As Mirror had earlier reported (June 11), writer Tushar Hiranandani whose repertoire boasts of films like Dishoom, Ek Villain, ABCD 2 and Grand Masti, is now gearing up for his directorial debut.

The film is a biopic of the world’s oldest female sharpshooters, 86-year-old Chandro Tomar and her sister-in-law Prakashi, who is five years younger.

It will reunite Anurag Kashyap with his ‘Rumi’, Taapsee Pannu. He is co-producing the film with Shibasish Sarkar and Nidhi Parmar. Bhumi Pednekar plays the other lead in Womaniya. The film rolls towards the end of January.

“The team will be leaving for Uttar Pradesh, where the story is based, for a month-long schedule. Both actresses begin prep in the next few days and they are looking to wrap up the film by March,” informed a source close to the production.

Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; June 24, 2018)

Earlier this year, it was announced that Kriti Sanon and Taapsee Pannu would soon feature in a biopic on sharp shooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. Titled Womaniya, the film was supposed to mark the directorial debut of writer Tushar Hiranandani. However, three days ago, there were reports that Kriti had walked out of the project. Now, we have learnt that there’s more to the story.

A source tells us, “Kriti has not yet opted out of the film. It’s true that there are date issues, but the actress and her team are trying to work things out. They are constantly in touch with the producers — Phantom Films (primarily filmmaker Vikas Bahl, as he is more involved with this movie), but are yet to figure out a solution.”

The source adds, “When Kriti and Taapsee signed the biopic, it was supposed to go on floors this April and wrap up by June. Both the actresses had given their dates, but the project failed to take off and got pushed further.” Our khabri avers, “The team felt it would be too hot to shoot during summer, so they postponed it further to September. Kriti had not signed anything then, but soon Housefull 4 and Panipat happened. Taapsee, too, had committed her dates from September to other films and the makers of Womaniya were finding it difficult to get both the heroines in a similar time frame.”

Currently, the team is in discussions with their respective managers and is trying to work out something, adds our birdie. “Kriti will be free only around next April. She has already conveyed it to the makers and told them to go ahead with someone else, if they have to. But Vikas and Tushar are keen on having her on board, so they are figuring out the dates and checking if they can shoot in April next year. It might get tricky again weather-wise, but that’s the only solution,” informs our source.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2018)

Acclaimed writer Tushar Hiranandani, whose repertoire boasts of films like Dishoom, Ek Villain, ABCD 2 and Grand Masti, is now gearing up for his directorial debut with an Anurag Kashyap co-production. Titled Womaniya, the film is a biopic on the lives of the world’s oldest female sharpshooters — Chandro Tomar, 86, and her sister-in-law, Prakashi, 81 — who reside in the Johri village of Western Uttar Pradesh. While Taapsee Pannu was brought on board to play one of the protagonists recently, the makers are currently on the lookout for actors for the rest of the acting line-up.

The film is expected to go on the floors later this year. “The story of these two women conveys a strong message — that life can begin even after 50. Every time I am faced with a mid-life crisis, I am reminded of their stellar story,” lyricist Raj Shekhar who has penned six songs for the film, tells Mirror. For the last one year, he has been closely working with Tushar and composer Vishal Mishra to keep the film’s music rural yet peppy and contemporary.

Raj insists that the film, which is a light-hearted drama, will make the audience laugh as well as tear up. The lyricist was making his debut with Aanand L Rai’s 2011 blockbuster, Tanu Weds Manu, when he first met Anurag, who is also mentoring the script and the film. The Gangs of Wasseypur filmmaker had been so blown away by the script that he’d initially wanted to direct it himself.

Popularly known as the “Revolver Daadis”, Chandro and Prakashi first learnt of the sport when the former, then in her mid-50s, had accompanied her granddaughter to the Johri Rifle Club. The octogenarian-duo has since won over 100 medals in the veteran category across championships in the north zone and at pre-nationals.

Prakashi’s awards include a Stree Shakti Puraskar by former President Pranab Mukherjee, a Women’s Achievers in India trophy and an Icon Lady Award by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.

One of Prakashi’s eight children, Seema, is an international shooter and India’s first woman shooter to win a Shotgun Silver at the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) World Cup. Today, many of Prakashi’s 20 grandchildren and Chandro’s six children and 15 grandchildren are shooters. Also, many women from the Tomar family now train girls at the Johri Rifle Association.

“Every song in the film has been written with the script as an inspiration. In turn, Tushar has drawn inspiration from the songs and rewritten some of the dialogues. It has been a beautiful give-and-take relationship. The music is deeply rooted in rural India and gives out a strong message that even ‘this India’ is cool,” Raj signs off.

Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 21, 2018)

Mirror (January 18) was the first to report that after her 2016 film Pink which had sparked a nationwide dialogue around girl power and consent, Taapsee Pannu is gearing up for another author-backed role in a two-heroine project, Womaniya, which traces the life and success story of two shooters. Now, Mirror has learnt that Kriti Sanon has been approached for the other role.

“Kriti has heard the script and liked it. Both actresses will play 60-yearolds in certain portions of the film as the story is told in flashback. They will be required to train before the film rolls towards the middle of this year,” informs a source close to the development. Being produced by Madhu Mantena, Anurag Kashyap, Vikramaditya Motwane and Vikas Bahl, it will be introducing a new director and is inspired by the real-life stories of several women professional shooters.

While Taapsee is already filming Manmarziyaan with Anurag Kashyap in Amritsar, a love story also featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal, this will be Kriti’s first collaboration with the production house. The Bareilly Ki Barfi actress is presently filming for Dinesh Vijan’s Arjun Patiala in Chandigarh with Diljit Dosanjh and Varun Sharma.

Kriti, Anurag and Madhu chose not to respond to our texts.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; January 18, 2018)

After her 2016 film Pink that sparked a nationwide dialogue around girl power and consent, Taapsee Pannu is gearing up for another author-backed role with Anurag Kashyap’s next production, titled Womaniya. Mirror has learnt that the film is set to go on the floors by July and features the actress as one of the leads in the two-heroine project, even as the makers are in talks with other leading actresses for the part of her co-star.

A source reveals, “The film follows two professional woman shooters and their success story against all odds. Both actresses will require to train in shooting before the film kicks off to maintain authenticity. Anurag will be introducing a new director with this project, which is inspired by the real-life success stories of several women professional shooters.”

Incidentally, Taapsee also plays the lead in the Aanand L Rai-produced Manmarziyan, which goes on the floors next month. The film marks Anurag’s foray in the romance genre and features Vicky Kaushal as the male lead. Buzz is, Abhishek Bachchan has stepped into the role that was originally offered to Dulquer Salmaan in the love triangle.

Meanwhile, Womaniya comes close on the heels of another sports drama for Taapsee. She features in Shaad Ali’s Soorma alongside Diljit Dosanjh, who plays Indian hockey player and ex-India captain Sandeep Singh in the biopic.