Taapsee Pannu: ‘Getting into Mithali Raj’s shoes has been the toughest role of my career’

What makes this role tougher than so many other gritty characters you have essayed on screen?

Taapsee Pannu: When you are playing a fictional character, you have the liberty to perform the way you feel like. In the case of a biopic of a legend, you have to deal with certain constraints. I had my heart in my mouth when the trailer was released. In this cricket-obsessed nation, people pick faults in even the most professional players. I knew I was putting myself out there for scrutiny.

Taapsee perfecting her stance with coach Nooshin Al Khadeer

You have worked in movies of varied genres. How do you pick your next project?

Taapsee Pannu: While considering a project, I think like an audience — whether the film will be worth two-three hours of my life and the ticket money. But I don’t overthink. If I am hearing or reading a script, it should, first of all, hold my attention. Suppose I get bored in between, then I know it won’t work. I don’t think of how much love or attention a certain project is going to fetch me. Movie-making is like a team sport. If a movie works, everything works. Performance alone can’t salvage it. I also wonder if I am going to enjoy those 40-50 days on the set during the making, if I am involved with the character and enjoy working with the people who are part of it. In the past, I have done big-budget movies with big stars in the south (India). It was hard for me to drag myself out of the bed and go to work. These apart, I want to have a certain kind of filmography that I will feel proud of when I look back.

What’s the motivation behind choosing a project like Thappad (2020)?

Taapsee Pannu: During Mulk’s promotion, Anubhav Sinha and I were talking about how we should talk about some basic things which are often swept under the carpet. Out of these discussions, the idea of Thappad emerged and became a feature film. This was a well-thought-out choice.

In your social-media post, you talked about Mithali Raj’s hustle. Don’t you think that’s something most women achievers have to go through?

Taapsee Pannu: We live in a patriarchal society and just to get eyeballs is a hustle. The acknowledgement and validation come after that. I am guilty of the fact that I was not aware of Mithali and the (women’s cricket) team till I heard her react to a sexist question (when asked to name her favourite male cricketer, Raj responded by asking, if they would ask the same to male players about women cricketers). It was, as if, they were non-existent. Today, if you ask people who is your favourite actor, out of five names, four will be male. It’s not like we spend less time on our films but to get that visibility and attention is a big hustle here. Our benchmarks are always men since we don’t celebrate female heroes enough. Mithali is called ‘female Sachin Tendulkar’ since we didn’t have a woman achiever in the field of cricket to compare her with. She started playing international cricket in 1999 but we don’t have footage of her playing until 2006, when the Women’s Cricket Association of India came under the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

You have headlined a number of women-centric movies. What has changed?

Taapsee Pannu: The frequency of such movies have changed. Such movies earlier were labelled as ‘parallel cinema’. Now, they are getting theatrical releases and media attention. The frequency of their release has increased. We used to have only two-three movies a year that had revolved around a female protagonist. Now, we almost have two-three in a month. That’s a big change in itself. When I entered the industry 10 years ago, I was told that an actress has a lifespan of five-six years. I never imagined that I would be headlining a film like Shabaash Mithu today.

What kept you going?

Taapsee Pannu: I found my motivation when I saw Vidya Balan in Kahaani (2012) and The Dirty Picture (2011). That made me aware of the fact that I can look for a long, fulfilling career. That inspired me to try and create my own path. I thought if things don’t work out in the movies, I will do something else. The fact that I had the courage to try, helped me to constantly do something different.

With director Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki, set to release in 2023, you will be working with Shah Rukh Khan for the first time.

Taapsee Pannu: You can never compete with the kind of love the audience has for him, the reach he enjoys. Working with him means a lot to an actor who wants an audience for herself. The male actors have a larger audience base compared to their female counterparts. That apart, I have been his fan. His victories and failures have always felt personal. He is a very relatable star. The role I have got in Dunki is much more prominent than what you have seen a female actor play in a Rajkumar Hirani movie.

What was the motivation behind turning a producer?

Taapsee Pannu: This is business and I don’t jump into business impulsively. I do that only in the case of movies. I have a partner (Pranjal Khandhdiya) who has a long experience in production. I wanted to get involved creatively. As a producer, I thought of taking care of the problems that I faced in the initial years of my career. I didn’t have the power or say as an actor then. This will be my contribution to the way a film would be made and how people should be treated behind the camera.

How did you come on board as the producer of the Tarun Dudeja-directed Dhak Dhak, a movie about four women bikers riding to the highest motorable pass in the world?

Taapsee Pannu: Any kind of collaboration to make women’s stories visible in the mainstream is welcome. When the story came to me, I knew it’s going to be a challenge at different levels. It features four female protagonists and requires a certain budget. The struggle was whether we should run after big names or get actors who will do it well. I knew that this story had to be told and I wanted my name attached to it. This speaks of sisterhood and the life of women beyond being partners or mothers. We don’t celebrate sisterhood in the mainstream as much as bromance.

Tell us about acquiring a badminton franchise.

Taapsee Pannu: I love watching sports and I find badminton engrossing. Badminton has been our recreational sport. It has faced the hurdle of being taken seriously unlike cricket. The way our players are performing today. I saw an opportunity there since no actor was attached to it and there was an opening to pick up a franchise.

Your recent tweet congratulating the Indian badminton team on their Thomas Cup victory and coach Mathias Boe got a lot of attention.

Taapsee Pannu: It was a long due victory for our team. Individually, we were doing well but doubles needed a nudge. With Mathias coming in as coach, that was taken care of. He has been working with the Indian team very closely for long though not professionally. He used to spend a lot of time in India when he used to visit me. When Mattias was an active player, during his visits he used to play with Chirag (Shetty) for practice. Since then, I remember him telling me that Chirag is really bright. We had this badminton team and Chirag has been part of it for two years. Satwik (Satwiksairaj Rankireddy) and Chirag (winners of Thomas Cup) are like his boys. In the Olympics, to see Mathias cry for them over their unfortunate loss made me realise how attached he is to them. It was very organic for him to coach them.