Taapsee Pannu at Expresso: Films influence audiences a lot, so let’s not run away from that

Discussing the current slump that the Hindi film industry is witnessing, Ali underlined the need to break with past traditions and offer unique experiences to the audience.

Taapsee Pannu, who made her acting debut with Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam (2010), was delighted to return to Hyderabad for the eclectic chat at Expresso. Taapsee, in her career of over a decade, has portrayed strong female characters in Hindi films.

On being asked about her gender politics and whether she would act in a movie like Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal if she was offered one, she said she would have been as excited as Ranbir Kapoor reading a script like that.

But, the difference, Pannu said, is what you read as script and what you see (on the screen) — “it is the director’s medium”.

“After reading the script, I would have said yes, but what I saw… it was disturbing to hear cheers and whistles at certain points… At certain moments I wouldn’t have liked the BGM (background music) to grow like that where the audience is forced to cheer and clap and whistle… That was the issue,” she said.

Taapsee then said she had rejected films where the takeaway for the audience was negative. “Indian audience that watches (films like) Tere Naam, starts copying the hairstyle of the hero. You can see the amount of influence we have on our audience. So let’s not run away from that. I am happy to embrace and accept that, and take a bit of responsibility for that.”

Calling herself a rule-breaker, she said, “I have worked best when I have ruffled feathers. My whole career is about ruffling feathers of all sorts.”

The session was moderated by Justin Rao, Deputy Copy Editor, The Indian Express, and Aakash Joshi, Deputy Associate Editor.