Taapsee Pannu: 'I don't want to be repetitive'

Taapsee Pannu

Barely six years in Bollywood and Taapsee Pannu has managed to bag diverse roles, straddling both commercial and real cinema. She has been part of films like Pink (2016), Judwaa 2 (2017), Mulk (2018) and Manmarziyaan (2018). Pannu is one of the few outsiders, to have managed to create her own space, sans a big banner launch or godfather.

She has a mystery thriller, Sujoy Ghosh's Badla, which has Amitabh Bachchan as co-star, slated for release. So she is in promotion mode with a new bespectacled look. Ask her if it is an endorsement deal and she says, "You will understand it, when you see the film; the glasses go well with my character, Naina Sethi, in the film. I love to get into the screen persona while promoting films. For an actor it is all about getting into character.''

Pannu with Amitabh Bachchan

But then in the same breath reveals that Naina does not wear "a chashma in the film!" So are they prescription glasses? "I used to wear glasses. I had a -3.5 number. But when I began acting, handling specs and contact lenses was too much of a bother during location shoots, so I got lasik [surgery] done and then life changed." So then why are those glasses perched on her nose? Pannu says, "When you promote a mystery film, there is not much you can reveal. The suspense element has to remain intact.'' So the spectacles are to build the intrigue? "Naina is much more than you can see, she is not a black or white character, she finds herself in a situation she didn't bargain for."

We are with Pannu at the Mehboob Studios, Bandra, talking spectacles and Badla when Ghosh, Big B and Shah Rukh Khan, the film's producer, drop in for a photoshoot. Pannu is ready for the cameras. "Talk about the varied modes an actor has to get into,'' she says.

"I have been shooting for my next, Saand Ki Aankh, wearing ghaghras in a rustic setup and here I am as the chic Naina of Badla talking about our shoot in Scotland. An actor gets to play so many lives." This is reflected in her choice of roles. "There's something different in every film of mine. I don't want to be repetitive. I want to take on diverse roles as an actor you have to keep challenging yourself."

Badla also sees herself teaming up with Bachchan, her Pink costar, again. On the wish list of all actors and filmmakers, Pannu says she shares a great comfort level with the star. "When you work the second time, the equation is set. He is brilliant and most of our scenes in Badla have us seated across the table. I grew up in the '90s and he was for me an actor whose films I watched on TV.

So my equation with Bachchan Sir is not that of a demi-god but of a co-actor because I did not see him in the '70s and '80s. I do not put him on a pedestal. I can have the same conversation with him as with his son Abhishek. Bachchan Sir loves to work with the younger lot but when you start behaving like a fan he closes up. I am well aware that there are filmmakers who are his fans because they have grown up on his films," says Pannu who also features in Balki's production, Mission Mangal. "There are four films lined up this year. I try to balance it with my South commitments. I began acting in the South so I try to do one film a year.''

On beau Mathias Boe and badminton
For a while now, there has been buzz about Taapsee Pannu and Danish badminton champ Mathias Boe. Last year, the actor turned businesswoman by buying a team (Pune 7 Aces) in the Premier Badminton League, which had Boe as one of its star players. "I keep hearing this so-called buzz but no one really cares. He is not a cricketer or a big industrialist. People ask me when I will get hitched. I will marry when I want to have a kid," says Pannu. Right now she is keen on nurturing budding badminton players. "I decided to produce champions due to my love for sports, especially badminton." Pannu's aim is to help the game fulfil its potential in India. "We are setting up academies to train youngsters in badminton. I am a hands-on owner of the team."

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