SAAND KI AANKH is the story of two women who find their calling in their 60s. The year is 1999. Chandro Tomar (Bhumi Pednekar) and Prakashi Tomar (Taapsee Pannu) are sister-in-laws living under one roof with their respective spouses, strict and orthodox brother-in-law Rattan Singh (Prakash Jha) and their children in Johri village in Uttar Pradesh.

The incredible real life motivational saga and a rewarding statement on women empowerment showcased by the 87 year old Shooter Dadi (Chandro Tomar) - Bhumi Pednekar and 82 year old Revolver Dadi (Prakashi Tomar) - Taapsee Pannu gets adapted for screen by Balwinder Singh Janjua. Newly married Prakashi Tomar enters the household of the Tomar's in Johri a village in Bagpat district in Uttar Pradesh, India.

In the space of mainstream biographical films, Saand Ki Aankh (SKA) manages to achieve what Super 30 could not. As opposed to the in-your-face, cringe-inducing righteous artifice of the life of mathematician Anand Kumar that was the latter, SKA comes across as spontaneous, relaxed and easy-going in its celebration of Chandro and Prakashi Tomar (Bhumi Pednekar and Taapsee Pannu respectively), the octogenarian sharpshooters from Johri village in Baghpat who have been unwitting initiators of a unique feminist movement in the heart of patriarchy.

If Saand Ki Aankh had been fiction, chances are it would have been dismissed as "improbable" and "typical Bollywood masala". We know this about the truth yet keep forgetting: it is not just stranger than fiction, it is gutsier, funnier and more adventurous, as this gloriously entertaining film reminds us.

Casting controversies can go, take a break. Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar as sexagenarian shooter daadis Prakashi Tomar and Chandro Tomar are not just believable in Saand Ki Aankh, they hit the bull's eye. Directed by debutant Tushar Hiranandani, Saand Ki Aankh weaves various emotions in one thread and leaves you with an inspiring message without sounding preachy.

Believe it, if you will: in the 2000s, two housewives from a conservative clan in Uttar Pradesh picked up guns while in their sixties, became ace competitive shooters, and inspired their daughters and nieces to represent India in the sport.

What do you call it when a woman tells a lie for another woman, when they share a common dream not for themselves, but the other women in their family, and together fight every obstacle that comes in their way? We call it an inspiring story of women empowerment. Saand Ki Aankh is just that with a tinge of Bollywood masala and drama.

In Tushar Hiranandani's Saand Ki Aankh, Prakash Jha plays a character the audience can collectively detest. An oppressor of women, a slapper of children, and a waster of precious hookah -- what's not to hate about good old Tauji? Tauji's opposite numbers, Chandro and Prakashi Tomar, are all things angelic.

Helmed by Tushar Hiranandani, scripted by Balwinder Singh Janjua, co-produced by Anurag Kashyap, edited by Devendra Murdeshwar and lensed by Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, Saand Ki Aankh is a uncompromisingly women-centric film made by a team composed predominantly of men. But that isn't the only reason why it is a bit of a marvel.