Taapsee Pannu is currently enjoying the niche she has created for herself. Taapsee, who began her career in Bollywood with Chashme Baddoor has come a long way and has become a name to reckon with. From Baby, Naam Shabana to Pink, she has proved her acting chops, and for those who thought that she could only star in content-driven films, Judwaa 2 was her answer. After some noteworthy work in her kitty, the actress is now gearing up for her next release, Soorma. While the film showcases the journey of hockey player Sandeep Singh, very little is known about the role Taapsee portrays. In a quick tête-à-tête, Taapsee sheds light on what’s in store for her this year.
The audience loved the power-packed trailer of Soorma. When you were filming it, was that reaction expected?
As an actor you come on the set a couple of days you get the vibe. Now it’s up to you if you want to be delusional or you want to say this might work. There are some films you know which tell you instantly it’s going to work. The latter happened with this film. I had expected the reaction of the audience after watching the trailer and thus I’m not surprised.
The trailer also highlights a strong woman character. Currently, everybody is talking about woman empowerment. What are your thoughts about it?
That is not feminism, that is not women empowerment. For me, women empowerment is about equality, I did one film where I spoke about issues of women and that’s it after that all the other films I did, they didn’t have that issue of women. For me, it’s about dealing with different topics, not just female-oriented topics of being a woman. That is true feminism and women empowerment for me. That’s why I’m going beyond that topic to show you what real women empowerment for me is.
You are also a part of Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyan. What should we expect from that one?
To sum it up, it is a very intense love story but its an Anurag Kashyap film, so it can’t be regular.
When you mention the name Taapsee Pannu, people immediately talk about your role in Baby and the prequel Naam Shabana. Is there a reason why you aren’t doing more films like that?
I think I’ve reserved my action sequences for that franchise as of now. Anything that comes my way has to be better than that, only then I am going to get into the same role again.
Is it because of the kind of reactions you got after Naam Shabana?
Ya, that is the reason when you’ve done something so good you don’t want to spoil the feel by doing something that is not going to be as good. Even though I keep getting offers to do action films and films based on rape victims, I don’t want to touch them again. I don’t want to spoil the sanctity of what I’ve done. Also, people have formed a certain image of me, I don’t want to disappoint them.
Apart from action, what many do not know is that you have also done horror films in the South which have done immensely well. Now with Bollywood remaking South films, you should probably star in the remake of your South films…
Yeah, really! I think we would look into it once I’m done with these back to back films. I think it’s a great concept which is universal and I’m sure the global audience will love it. I’ve done two horror films in the South, Anando Brahma and Kanchana 2 and both of them have worked brilliantly if any one of them is getting made in Hindi I really want to do it.
We are looking forward to Soorma, Taapsee!