Taapsee Pannu: Difficult to look in mirror, see someone double my age

Taapsee Pannu on playing 60-year-old sharpshooter in her next

Even as her latest release Badla receives glowing reviews, Taapsee Pannu has little time to celebrate. "When success comes knocking, it's not the time to get complacent," says the actor wisely.

On her part, she is walking the talk - she has resumed the shooting of Anurag Kashyap's production, Saand Ki Aankh in Johri, Uttar Pradesh. The Tushar Hiranandani-directed project has Pannu playing Chandro Tomar, one of the country's oldest women sharpshooters, with Bhumi Pednekar stepping into the shoes of Prakashi Tomar.

Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar with the Tomar sisters

Acknowledging that biopics are a tricky genre to navigate, Pannu adds that her biggest challenge is to look like a 60-year-old. "Imagine what it feels like to see myself in the mirror and look double my age! My mom was recently on the set and she was amazed to see me. I usually don't have a habit of looking at the monitor, but I think that people will either love it or loathe it. There won't be a middle ground."

Stepping into the shoes of Shooter Dadi (as Chandro Tomar is fondly called) has not been an easy journey as Pannu's muse belongs to a world far removed from hers. "Saand Ki Aankh is the most challenging film of my career. This character has nothing in common with me - neither the struggles nor the background. As someone in my 30s, I can't comprehend what they were feeling when they were 60. [Fortunately] they are constantly in touch with us and are helping us get the nuances right."

Happy to reunite with Amitabh Bachchan after their courtroom drama Pink (2016), Pannu says that the success of the film only reinstates her faith in good content. "With this, I feel my selection of projects is validated. Badla is an unconventional film with no light moments or songs. It's usually unlikely for a thriller to do well commercially. Now, I am itching to do a hat-trick with sir."

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