(Starring : Bhumi Pednekar, Taapsee Pannu, Prakash Jha, Vineet Kumar Singh, Director: Tushar Hiranandani)
“Saand Ki Aanjh” (Bull’s Eye) is based on the amazingly true story of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, a pair of sisters-in-law of the Johri village in Uttar Pradesh, who in their sixties, become two of the oldest sharp-shooters of the world, winning several medals over the years for the country.
Hailing from the feudal set-up where women don’t step out of their homes without the permission of the men, who smoked hookahs all the day, while their ‘better’ halves worked all the day in fields and brick-kilns, only to return home and prepare meals. This, and other grim details like the fact that women were practically baby-making machines, rearing as many as a dozen or more children each, or the fact that they lived huddled like cattle, identified only from the colour of the ghunghats they draped over their heads, is conveyed for the most part with well-intentioned humour by director Tushar Hiranandani.
But Chandro and Prakashi sneak out to learn shooting at a makeshift range set up by a well-meaning doctor (Vineet Kumar Singh), then lie to attend various championships when it’s clear they’ve got impeccable shooting skills. The two take these risks, hoping their daughters and granddaughters can learn shooting too, and stand on their own feet to escape their miserable lives.
Bhumi Pedneker and Tapsee Pannu, who play the two protagonists in the movie, put up sincere, spirited performances, throwing themselves into the roles, alternating between vulnerability and strength. The only underwhelming aspect is in many ways, the women in their thirties look seldom like sixty-year olds with their make-up and prostheses. And the film is far from perfect, seems over-stretched at times. At 148 minutes, it feels unmistakably long, but you still root for the characters, such is the strength of them. You will come out of the darkness of the theatre, still upbeat and spirited long after the credits have stopped rolling. I’m going with 3 out of 5 for “Saand Ki Aankh.” Watch it for the sheer sincerity of the persons involved in its making.
Movie Reviewed by Dr. Sambit Begray