How Relevant is the Ageism Debate Kicked Off By ‘Saand Ki Aankh’?

‘Saand Ki Aankh’ stars Taapse Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar as 60-plus women.

The trailer of director Tushar Hiranandani’s Saand Ki Aankh, starring Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar, dropped recently, and it sparked off a debate on ageism in Bollywood. Many on social media felt that casting two 30-something female stars (Taapsee is 32 and Bhumi is 30) in roles that were tailor-made for older female actors wasn’t right. The characters in the film are over 60 years old.

Actors like Neena Gupta, Ratna Pathak Shah, Shabana Azmi and many others came up as being a lot more appropriate for the roles. Neena and Soni Razdan also lent their voices to the debate.

In this week’s episode of Reel Deal podcast, I discuss why appropriate casting of older female actors is important and the relevance of the ageism debate in Bollywood.