'Saand
Ki
Aankh',
a
film
about
two
female
sharpshooters
who
took
to
the
sport
after
the
age
of
60,
became
the
centre
of
an
ageism
debate
on
social
media.
The
film
starred
Bhumi
Pednekar
and
Taapsee
Pannu,
who
are
both
in
their
30s.
When
veteran
actor
Neena
Gupta
expressed
her
thoughts
on
directors
not
casting
actors
who
are
age-appropriate
for
particular
roles,
the
debate
blew
up
into
a
controversy.
In
a
recent
interview,
Neena
Gupta
opened
up
about
the
controversy
saying
that
she
does
not
understand
why
her
statement
led
to
a
controversy.
Before
the
release
of
Saand
Ki
Aankh,
a
netizen
had
tweeted
that
although
they
love
Bhumi
and
Taapsee
as
actors,
casting
someone
like
Neena,
or
Shabana
Azmi
or
Jaya
Bachchan
would
have
been
appropriate.
To
this,
Neena
had
responded,
"Yes
i
was
just
thinking
about
this
hamari
umar
ke
role
toe
kamsekam
humse
kara
lo
bhai."
Neena
got
talking
to
Zoom
about
the
controversy
this
statement
led
to,
after
Rangoli
Chandel
supported
her
statement,
and
began
to
make
aggressive
attacks
on
Taapsee's
acting
skills.
Neena
said,
"I
don't
understand
why
my
statement
on
Saand
Ki
Aankh
was
such
a
controversy.
I
didn't
want
to
snatch
anyone's
role.
I
just...
I
wished
that
an
older
woman
like
me
would
have
played
it
and
it
doesn't
mean
I
wanted
bad
for
anyone
else."
Saand
Ki
Aankh,
directed
by
Tushar
Hiranandani,
and
co-produced
by
Anurag
Kashyap,
tells
the
real-life
story
of
Chandro
and
Prakashi
Tomar,
who
are
the
oldest
sharpshooters
in
the
world.
The
film
has
received
favourable
reviews
from
critics,
and
its
lead
actresses
have
been
particularly
praised
for
their
performances.