Taapsee Pannu on 'Haseen Dilruba': Thank the ones who turned down the film

Taapsee Pannu

Taapsee Pannu has no qualms admitting that she wasn't the first choice for 'Haseen Dillruba'. If anything, she believes the Vinil Mathew-directed film was destined for her, and rightly found her after a few hiccups. The actor relished the dark murder mystery so much that by the end of the narration, she was game to portray the character of Rani.

"I don't know why others did not want to do this part. Certain roles are not author-backed, but they are what I call ‘an actor's candy'. This is one such character. There was no emotion that the character didn't have the scope to show. So, I was shocked that I was given this role on a platter. I can only thank the ones who turned it down for whatever reasons," she quips, confident that she has an ace up her sleeve in the Netflix film.

Pannu with Rane in the film

At first glance, 'Haseen Dillruba' - which features Vikrant Massey as Rani's husband and Harshvardhan Rane as her lover - is your classic love triangle gone wrong when the husband is found dead. But add Pannu and writer Kanika Dhillon to the equation, and the film rises above a typical thriller to talk about society's inherent bias against women. "A crime done by a woman is perceived differently. Similarly, when a woman is accused of infidelity, we are perceived to be morally destroying our society. But when a man [cheats], the [conversation] becomes, ‘Arre, bechare se galti ho gayi'. As an actor, I am showing the side of a woman, which is considered taboo. I am more than ready to be judged. Ever since I decided to be an actor, I have been judged for my choices."

While she brings the different shades of a woman on screen, she says that her beliefs don't align with Rani's. Asked how difficult it is to portray a character she doesn't identify with, Pannu says, "It's like you are psyching your brain to do something you don't believe in. But it's the cost we pay for being an actor."

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