The spirited trailer of Tushar Hiranandani’s Saand Ki Aankh, which features Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar playing two real-life sisters from Uttar Pradesh who became famous sharpshooters, has triggered off a debate on age-suited casting.

The spirited trailer of Tushar Hiranandani’s Saand Ki Aankh, which features Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar playing two real-life sisters from Uttar Pradesh who became famous sharpshooters, has triggered off a debate on age-suited casting.

Challenging the casting of Taapsee and Bhumi, who are in their late 20s, veteran actress Neena Gupta tweeted, “Yes, I was just thinking about this. Hamari umar ke role toe kamsekam humse kara lo bhai (at least let actresses of my age play such roles).”

The remark has triggered a Twitter debate, with Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli saying that Kangana had been offered the film, but she suggested Neena Gupta and Ramya Krishna for the two sisters’ roles.

Perhaps this is another Ranaut-induced ploy to belittle Taapsee’s career upswing. But nevertheless, the fact remains that actresses beyond a certain age find themselves nearly jobless in our country.

In a sharp rejoinder, Tapsee responded with a long post on Twitter. A part of it read: “Have we really lost the shoulder along with our spine to support people who venture out of their comfort zone to bring about a change? Or it’s just reserved for two females who at a relatively nascent stage of their career venture out to do something, which we were told, most of the people turned down?”.

The actress even added past examples of actors playing characters who are much older or younger than them — like Anupam Kher in Saaransh, Nargis Dutt playing Sunil Dutt’s mother, Aamir Khan playing a college student in 3 Idiots.

When congratulated on her well thought-out comments on ageism, she says: “I really was trying to stay away from saying much, but after a point I thought when my hard work and efforts are questioned then I need to stand up for myself.”