Meet the Real-Life Sharpshooters of ‘Saand Ki Aankh’

The two actresses play Prakashi Toma and Chandro Tomar, who took on shooting in their 60s.

Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar with Prakashi Toma and Chandro Tomar.

(Photo courtesy: Instagram)

Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar will be seen playing 60-plus women in their upcoming film Saand Ki Aankh. While we don't doubt their acting abilities, as the duo has proven that they can nail pretty much any character, the prosthetic makeup used on them, at least going by the newly released poster, doesn’t seem to be aiding their cause.

Yet, Saand Ki Aankh is a biopic worth being excited about.

Bhumi and Taapsee will be seen reprising the role of sharpshooters Chandro Tomar (now 87-year-old), and her sister-in-law Prakashi Tomar (now 82-year-old).

The story of these two women from Johri village in Uttar Pradesh, who made history by becoming the oldest and the second oldest sharpshooters of the world, is an inspiring story which was waiting to be told.

Chandro and Prakashi started learning shooting in 1999-2000, when they accompanied their grand-daughter and daughter respectively to a shooting range in their village. They were in their 60s by then.

While Chandro is known as Shooter Dadi, Prakashi is called Revolver Dadi.

Chandro Tomar

Chandro first took the pistol in her hand at the shooting range when her granddaughter could not load it and her first shot resulted in a bullseye hit.

After two years of training, she competed against the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Delhi Police, and won.

Since taking up the sport in 1999, Chandro has won around 25 national championships across the country.

Prakashi Tomar

She begun shooting in 2000 when she accompanied her daughter Seema Tomar, now a well-known name in the world of shooting, to the Johri Rifle club to learn shooting, as a young Seema was hesitant about going to the club alone.

Together the Tomar ladies have won over 50 national championships.

Both of them have gone on to train many shooters in the last decade and a half.

Incidentally, both the Tomar dadis hit the bullseye in their first attempt at shooting, which is why Saand Ki Aankh (bull’s eye in Hindi) sounds like an apt name. 

Directed by Tushar Hiranandani and produced by Anurag Kashyap, Saand Ki Aankh, is slated to release during Diwali this year.