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Taapsee Pannu has a lot going on for her currently. From sharing screen space with Shah Rukh Khan for their next, Dunki, to taking upon herself to tell the untold story of women in blue with Shabaash Mithu, she’s been busy. But not too busy to overlook her production house, prudently named Outsiders Films. Her next production venture, Dhak Dhak, was announced recently.
Image credit: Instagram/taapsee
In an exclusive chat with iDiva, Taapsee Pannu sounds off on the challenge of portraying one of the greatest women cricketers, her production house being a beacon of hope, and treating sarees like everyday casuals.
iDiva: Many of the films you’ve picked in the past are about challenging the status quo, be it Thappad, Pink or Mulk. Is that a conscious choice you make? What makes you accept these roles?
Taapsee: When I hear a script, I think from an audience’s point of view: Have I seen this kind of film before? Does this impact me? Did I forget the film after the narration got over? Or did I keep thinking about it because something about it was so unique and refreshing that it connected with me beyond those few hours of narration. So I address it like that before I decide.
iDiva: As someone who rarely minces her words and is known for speaking her mind, do you think such perceptions about your personality influence the kind of roles you get?
Taapsee: Not just roles, even the brands. The kind of roles that I get is the snowball effect of the kind of films that I’ve done and the kind of personality I have off camera. Even if a brand comes to me, there’s also a strong recall of a certain kind of personality that they feel they’d want to be associated with. I believe in relatability where my films and characters are concerned because I feel I represent an average Indian woman on screen.
iDiva: Your latest brand campaign with Vogue Eyewear talks about ‘celebrating individuality’. What does that mean to you?
Taapsee: That’s the beginning of happiness for me. When you realise who you are and start owning it up without being apologetic about it, that’s when you come close to experiencing happiness that you seek. The core idea of the campaign was very exciting for me. They have a wide range of options to fit into different kinds of personalities. The campaign and the looks they have are in sync with multiple lives I live in this life, as being an actor you don many hats. That emerges very well with this campaign.
Image credit: Vogue Eyewear
iDiva: Shabaash Mithu is scheduled for release in July. How difficult was it for you to prepare for a role so demanding where you not only get trained for a new sport but once you get into the character, you also experience the highs and lows of winning and losing on the field. How challenging has it been, mentally and physically?
Taapsee: I never played cricket before I started training for Shabaash Mithu. I knew this was an uphill task and this was going to take every ounce of my patience, energy and focus because I’m portraying someone who has written the biggest story in women’s cricket and probably got women’s cricket on the map. I knew it is going to be a one of its kind movie and will require one of its kind efforts. Hence, I tried to give it all I could and it was definitely a big task for someone who never held a bat but I guess I love sports. I don’t know how the audience is going to react to it, but it is one of the films I’ve worked hardest on.
I had to start from scratch and also get into the shoes of a person who is diametrically opposite to me as a person. She is more introverted, more of an observer, she’s a woman of few words, which is very much opposite of my personality. Hence, it was a totally different learning for me how this personality will react to victories and defeat. I’m representing a person who has been on the field and people have seen her play, so you don’t have the liberty to interpret every moment and emotion on your own.
Image credit: Instagram/taapsee, Viacom 18 Studios
I’m not a good loser when it comes to sports, as I’m very passionate and I find it hard to accept that I’ve lost. So, it was another challenge altogether to see how Mithali takes defeat because every time she has taken a defeat, she has risen. And for 23 years, she’s been doing that time and again. I am actually in awe of the personality that she is. That’s the longest lasting career of a captain in Indian cricket, be it men’s or women’s cricket. The kind of achievements she has are beyond gender in cricket. So I had to make sure I do my best, rest let’s see how the audience reacts.
iDiva: You achieved a huge milestone by starting your own production house called the Outsiders Films. It was assumed that as an outsider yourself, this was your comeback to an industry that’s called out for nepotism way too often. What’s your take on it?
Taapsee: When I thought of becoming a producer, I believed that the name of my production house should reflect who I am, be it my background, my baggage or the edge I have in this industry. I have been very unapologetic about being an outsider and I have never seen it as a taboo or something that puts me down in comparison to anyone. I know it’s a harder journey. I have always accepted the fact it’s going to be more difficult and this journey would require more patience and persistence and I knew about it when I began. But the fact that I still made it is because I had a certain perspective of life and how to approach certain roles and films because I was an outsider. The fact that I had seen a regular, middle-class life up close for most of my years helped me have the kind of representation that I had in film characters, which probably connected to people, which probably gave me the image that I have today. So I own it up as a beautiful tag that I have as an outsider and I don’t want anyone to look down upon this tag either. That’s why I wanted this to be the name of my production house, so that people look at it and feel that this is possible.
I wanted to show if I can reach here, any other outsider can do it too. It’s for the relatability factor with the audience and the masses in a positive light. It’s going to be very pitiful and all my efforts would be a waste if I use this as a rebuttal to the industry, which is primarily about nepotism. That’s not the idea at all.
Image credit: Instagram/taapsee
iDiva: There has been a stigma attached to curly hair and many women have to constantly straighten them under pressure because straight hair, on the other hand, is associated with conventional beauty. But you’ve always owned your gorgeous curls. What do you think about these perceptions?
Taapsee: Even I succumbed to the idea during my early school and college days that curly hair is not beautiful, not glamorous and not fancy, as not many people around you have them. And even if they do, they’re always trying to straighten it. Even I used to keep straightening it all the time, but using all the chemicals damaged my hair further. But the more I tried to tame it, the more rebellious they became. After a point I realised that if I keep doing it, then it will eventually turn me bald. So, it’s better to start understanding and embracing what you have as you’re blessed with something unique. Understand that what you consider your flaw could be your identity.
During my school years, the advent of the internet and social media was not this crazy, so it wasn’t like you open your Instagram and see 50,000 pictures of people with different hair types and how they’re maintaining them. So, it took me a while to understand how to make the most of it, and with years of hits and trials and learnings, I finally realised how beautiful they could be. So the moment I embraced it was the first step towards making them look their best.
Image credit: Instagram/taapsee
Of course, in my profession, there are films and roles and situations for which I have to straighten them up for a different look. So many times I feel like I’ve done the curly hair look consistently, so now let’s change it up a bit, but I’d be told to not change it.
iDiva: We’ve been noticing an affinity for sarees on your Instagram lately. You wore one on Christmas, and in London, you paired it with a sweater. You also had a saree moment during your Russia trip where you paired it with sneakers. Tell us where the idea came from.
Taapsee: I’ve been enjoying wearing sarees since the time I started working in the South. At the beginning of my career, I wore so many sarees that now I can tie a saree in under five minutes all by myself. That amuses and amazes people, as they think it’s a very tedious job to drape a saree. I have a huge collection of sarees but they’re mostly the casual ones and not the heavier ones, as I want to wear the ones that are comfortable to move around in. I wanna wear it not in the conventional forms of wearing a saree because I feel we’re allowed to adapt an outfit based on our personal style. So, I like to club them with my crop tops and sneakers and have my accessories that are not conventionally “saree accessories”.
Image credit: Instagram/taapsee
For me, it takes the same amount of time to wear a skirt or a dress and a saree. So, I carry it around like my casual wear.
iDiva: In one of your recent interviews, you mentioned how you wouldn’t have had to put in the same amount of hard work to get noticed if you crossed over from South to Bollywood now. What do you think has changed?
Taapsee: To begin with, it’s because of OTT. OTT changed the scenario, which eventually helped pan-India releases to happen slowly and steadily, and now every South star is a well-known name in the Hindi circuit as well, which was not the case 10 years back. So a lot of my South films were telecast here, and people who were watching content on TV knew me. Now with the multiplex audience wading into OTT, and OTT being equally dominated by regional content, the multiplex audience also knows the regional stars now. Hence, the things are very different. But when I came into the Hindi film industry, I had to start from scratch and I was not given any brownie points for the fact I had done a considerable amount of work in the South and worked with good names there. I had to start like a newcomer but that has changed now. I’m glad people are now embracing other language content as well.
Lead image credit: Instagram/taapsee, Red Chillies Entertainment
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