Taapsee Pannu reveals she was discouraged from signing Saand Ki Aankh: Everyone said it's the 'stupidest decision'

This week’s release Saand Ki Aankh , features Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles as India’s first female sharpshooters Chandro and Prakashi Tomar. Pannu, known for her unconventional choice in cinema, opened up to The Indian Express about the film and the early reactions she got when she signed up for it. Talking about the film’s upcoming release, Taapsee says that among Akshay Kumar’s Housefull 4 and Rajkummar Rao’s Made In China , her and Bhumi’s film stands out as it’s the only female-led movie. She confesses that she is fine with people not liking the film but reiterates that audiences should at least give the flick a chance. [caption id=“attachment_6974481” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar in a still from Saand Ki Aankh[/caption] A Diwali release has conventionally been reserved for the A-league, hero-centric blockbusters. Pannu agrees that she had been told, ever since the release date was announced, that it was a wrong date. In fact, she says they even got trolled and received calls about backing out from the slot since the film might not work. The actress adds that even if she were not part of the film, she would have wanted it to perform well as it would give female-led films the required boost to launch themselves on big-event days. Saand Ki Aankh features both Taapsee and Bhumi as the 60-year-old Tomar sisters. Pannu recounts that the prosthetics were quite difficult for the two of them since even if they had one drop of sweat, the makeup had to be redone. As far as mental hardships are concerned, the actress says, “Mental hardships were when we said yes to the film, everyone around us said this is the stupidest decision because why would you do a two girl film without any hero, who wants to play an old woman? This has no precedents, and you always feel the fear of the unknown, what might happen to your career, but I’m like someone needs to take that step.” Pannu also states that the situation for women in cinema has become much better in the past years, at least in terms of the kind of work being offered to them. From being removed from films just because the actor did not prefer her, to a stage where she is being offered films before the rest of the cast, Taapsee says she’s witnessed it all. Saand Ki Aankh hit theatres on 25 October.