A s we sit in her room at an upscale hotel, Taapsee Pannu laments how she could only manage to meet her parents for a quick breakfast even though she’s in her hometown, Delhi. Her schedule is tight as she’s embarked on a multi-city tour for her recently released film, Game Over, which is a Tamil-Telugu thriller but has also been presented in Bollywood by Anurag Kashyap. The 31-year-old has come a long way since her debut film, Chashme Badoor, which was a commercial potboiler. Since then, known for portraying strong characters in films such as Pink, Mulk and Badla, Taapsee says she will do a masala film “when I feel like I am being typecast”.
She adds, “I did another masala film, Judwaa 2 but now I don’t get those roles anymore. For some reason, people feel that they cannot offer me roles which are not the central character. I did Soorma and Mission Mangal because I wanted people to understand that it’s not the length of the role that matters. My problem is what I am doing in that length. I did Judwaa 2 because I wanted people to stop slotting me into indie and offbeat roles. My career started in the south doing big fancy movies.
I am not doing masala films currently because I am finding other interesting roles. That doesn’t mean I can’t wear a bikini and look hot in it. I will wear it when I want to not because I have to be in the `100 crore film club.”
In Game Over, which has been directed by Ashwin Saravanan, she plays the role of Swapna who is a video game developer. When asked about the rise of thrillers in Indian cinema, Taapsee says, “Some really strong writing is required for such films. In a thriller movie if you’re able to predict the movie anywhere that ends it. It’s a risky genre that way but if it works it keeps the audience glued to the screen. Time and again such films will be made.
And if they work they will be game changers for the film industry. I want to keep the first-mover advantage.” Taapsee’s unconventional choices are reflected not just in the work she does but in her looks as well. The actor sports her natural curly hair in most of her films and says “it’s an entity in itself”. “David (Dhawan) sir doesn’t like me having curly hair because he hasn’t ever imagined his heroines to have curly big hair; on the other hand, Anurag Kashyap or Sujoy Ghosh cannot see me without it. They call it my trademark. Curly hair needs to be lit a certain way in films and not everybody knows how to do it,” says Taapsee.
Unlike her peers the actor doesn’t post airport or gym looks either. “I play squash and go to the gym but I do not go to any fancy places to play squash. My sports club is somewhere the fancy people don’t go. I have sexy outfits for my squash and gym but they are for me not for others to view. I go to the gym for gymming and not for fashion. Neither do I have any airport looks. If they catch hold of me that becomes an airport look. There’s zero effort put into it,” says Taapsee laughingly.
The actor believes that being an outsider in Bollywood has its own advantages. “The beautiful thing about being an outsider is whatever I achieve big or small will be mine, nobody can take that support away and lead to my downfall. In every industry there’s favouritism and nepotism. You have to accept it as the rule of the book and make your way.
If you are able to prove yourself, the love that you get will be unmatchable. Nobody can question your hardwork because you have done it all on your own. Having no support system in the industry is a big plus for me, because being an outsider increases the relatability factor with the audience. It makes my roles more believable, which may not happen with the privileged ones,” says the actor triumphantly.