Taapsee Pannu: from hard-hitting to crazy, glamorous roles

She has powered through Bollywood playing the strong, hard-hitting woman in two back-to-back films besides another in the pipeline and Taapsee Pannu says she wants to take a break from the action dramas by adding colour and glamour to her career with Judwaa 2.

The 29-year-old actor debuted her action girl avatar in Baby in 2015 and then followed it up with Pink, which highlighted the issue of women empowerment, the importance of consent in the country and delivered a progressive, provocative and powerful statement about the rights and position of women in the society.

The film received an overwhelming response at the box office hence showing the audience’s growing acceptance for women-led films. Taapsee says she believes that the definition of Bollywood actor is changing and the success of films like Pink will further encourage directors to not shy away from dealing with women-oriented subjects.

“It is a good thing. It is only going to improve from here. The audience is realising the value of content. It is not just big stars who are crowd-pullers now. The content of the film is also responsible for getting people to theatres.

“On an average at least one film a month is female-centric. A lot many of them do well. Even A-listers are doing such films. We are in a good situation.” Taapsee, who made her film debut with Telegu movie Jhummandi Naadam in 2010, entered Bollywood in 2013 and  has just starred in three films since then.

The actor says she has stuck to doing so little work as she felt hurrying into projects was not the path to success and she knew if she made one mistake, she would not be given a second chance to rectify it.

“I have been working to build an audience base for the last three years in Bollywood. My whole idea was to stay slow and steady because I didn’t have the option of making any error. I knew if I made one error, I would be thrown out of the industry and not given another chance. So, I was very particular about the films I was choosing.” The Pink actor will also be seen in Naam Shabana, which is a spin-off based on her character from Baby. She has decided to break to her string of action roles by opting to star in her Chashme Baddoor director David Dhawan’s comic remake Judwaa 2.

“I want to play roles my age and my type also. I am a huge Bollywood buff. I have grown up watching masala films all my life. I love to dance and have fun. I am an audience to such films so why should I not do such films? 

“I have seen Judwaa and all of David sir’s films. I wanted to shift and break from what I have been doing. If I don’t do it then it will be boring for the audience. I am really looking forward to adding some crazy, fun colours and glamour to my career,” Taapsee said. The actor may be looking beyond the action genre but she is excited about the release of Naam Shabana. Taapsee says the film is an experimentation for the whole cast and crew but it is definitely worth the risk. “It is the first spin-off and that too of a female character. The filmmakers are taking a risk by making a film on a girl. I am looking forward to it.”