Taapsee Pannu, an agent of social change
Bold, brazen and outspoken, Taapsee Pannu has been doing roles befitting the person that she is. The actor feels she is in a great space and says, “I am taking up films that are challenging me. I have to thank the audience for this. This has not happened overnight. Women in India have changed. In fact, the audience’s thinking has changed. When I started working, only one or two female-centric movies were being made but now the number of such films have increased.”
She goes on to add, “I will not take up jobs that won’t push me out of my bed. I want enjoy my work and that’s my only criterion in life. I will not do things just for money. I have done that in the beginning of my career but they didn’t help me. It was then that I decided that I will do films which will satisfy me as an actor. Even if I don’t get enough sleep it’s alright but I should take pleasure in the work I do.”
The year ahead is chock-a-block as she is busy preparing for two sports films. “Right now, I am busy shooting for Vinil Mathew’s Haseen Dilruba. It is a romantic thriller written by Kanika Dhillon. I will start shooting for Rashmi Rocket after that in which I play a sprinter from Kutch, Gujarat. It’s being directed by Akarsh Khurana. I have been training as a sprinter since January 3. This will be the first time I will be following a particular diet, followed by physiotherapy session and athletic training. Thereafter, I will start training in cricket for Shabaash Mithu, which is a biopic on former captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team, Mithali Raj,” says the 32-year-old.
Tapsee says she has met Mithali but hasn’t had the opportunity to speak with her. “She is an introvert and doesn’t talk much. I messaged her during the poster release of the film and told her I was nervous. She said ‘you are fantastic and I can see you as me in the poster’. I’ve learnt a few batting strokes from her. I love watching cricket but I’ve never played it so it will be challenging. I plan to grow my hair in a style similar to Mithali’s.”
The actor reveals that she has become very patient after coming in the industry. “I was very short-tempered earlier but I have developed a lot of patience. Now I am hyper-active. I think you mature as you grow older.” So what irritates Tapsee? “Inefficiency. If things are not done properly, I get irritated. It’s not easy to get jobs. Many people need to work but don’t get opportunities.
When you have got an opportunity you have to give it your hundred per cent. People take their work for granted and are not focused or are dishonest and that irritates me. I feel when you are the chosen one, you should accomplish it. Nothing is easy in life. It can be unfair at times. Use it to your advantage and give it a twist. Learn from it.”
Tapsee’s upcoming film Thappad highlights domestic violence faced by women in India. “There’s a scene in the film where the lawyer asks, ‘whose fault is it?’ It will make you think: is it the man’s fault that he thinks he has the right to hit her? Or is it the woman’s fault because she let him take things for granted or maybe it’s his mother’s fault that she didn’t teach him how to treat a woman. Maybe it’s the parents’ fault that taught her to bear things quietly. It is actually everyone’s fault. We bear abuse quietly. We have to change that now,” says Tapsee. The actor says she will not compromise on one thing in her relationships and that is respect. “There’s love only when there’s respect,” she concludes.