Taapsee Pannu opens up on being called a ‘sasti’ copy of Kangana Ranaut by her sister Rangoli Chandel; also the misogyny rampant in our films
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 22, 2019)

From a scheming murderess to a 82-year-old sharpshooter and now a scientist—Taapsee Pannu can’t complain about the lack of diverse roles coming her way. The trailer of her upcoming film, Mission Mangal, shows her character, Kritika Aggarwal, tending to her ailing husband before heading to ISRO to help navigate India’s first and the world’s cheapest Mars orbiter in space. She reveals that director Jagan Shakti’s only brief was to keep it real. “Our film should be a true depiction of today’s woman who has perfected the balancing act,” she reminisces. Being a qualified engineer, certain terms sparked off memories of college. “Everyone else had their lines by heart,” she laughs.

Was doing a film with an ensemble cast, which includes Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Sonakshi Sinha, Sharman Joshi and Kriti Kulhari, a deliberate choice after Badla in which she was pitted against only Amitah Bachchan for the most part of the film? She agrees, saying when she walked on to the set, it looked like a mela. “I was scared for Jagan, a first-time director,” she chuckles. “But every day thereafter was a party.”

Taapsee adds that another reason for accepting Misson Mangal was the opportunity to work with Vidya Balan, who she has been a fan of since The Dirty Picture and Kahaani. “She made me believe that you can be the hero of your own film. Her energy is infectious. I’ve told Sujoy (Badla director Sujoy Ghosh) and Vidya that I want to work with them, again and again,” she smiles.

And what about her Baby and Naam Shabana mentor, Akshay Kumar? “I know what to except when we’re shooting with Akshay sir. We’re both morning people—though he is a 4 am person and I am a 6 am one—and like to be on time. This time he had a rule that we should all have lunch together so every day, tiffin boxes from everyone’s homes were laid out on the table at exactly 12:30 pm and we would gather for a picnic,” she recalls, adding that since she couldn’t bring her own dabba, Akshay would get her food from his home.

The two actors will be splitting the box-office pie when Housefull 4 and Saand Ki Aankh clash at the ticket windows this Diwali. Taapsee is unfazed. “The franchise has its loyalists, ours is a smaller film in comparison, but since it’s a family entertainer, Diwali is a good date. One of the benefits of a festive release is that people will give both films a chance as they are in a celebratory mood,” she avers, adding, “You’d think our film about two old ladies would be boring, but it’s a fun ride with two badass gun-toting daadis.”

With two critically-acclaimed films out and two more to release in the coming months, the actress has her hands full. “I’ll have four releases next year too. I’m doing a Tamil film now, then, I’ll start Anubhav Sinha’s next, followed by Anurag Kashyap’s,” she rattles off. Quiz her on the Mithali Raj biopic and she reveals that though she’s yet to sign on, she’s excited about it. “I’ve never played cricket and am looking forward to the challenge. I’ve been following Mithali since she asked why women cricketers are always asked about their favourite male cricketers and not vice versa. That remark has stayed with me, as actresses, even we are first asked who our co-star is when we sign a film,” she reasons.

Last year’s Manmarziyaan (right) was directed by Anurag, now Saand Ki Aankh is co-produced by him, and Taapsee has found a friend in the filmmaker. And like a true friend, he jumped to her defence when Kangana Ranaut’s sister Rangoli Chandel lashed out at her on Twitter. “Not just Anurag, a few other close friends from the industry also wanted to retort, but I stopped them because I don’t want to give her any mileage on my behalf. She can’t play the nepotism card with me because I’ve also struggled to reach where I am today,” she argues, adding, “I didn’t want to engage in a word battle because I would not be able to match their language.”

Taapsee goes on to explain that in an interview, she’d said that Kangana needs a “double filter” but in the same copy, she had also admitted that she herself needs a “brain-to-mouth filter”. “We are both opinionated and speak our mind which is a good thing except that sometimes it lands us in trouble. I had said it in a positive manner and not meant for it to be derogatory. In fact, I have often said Kangana’s an actor I look up to, my conscience is clear. It was weird to target me, that’s why it backfired,” she maintains.

She has an interesting reply to Rangoli’s jibe in the post that she is a “sasti copy” of Kangana. “I didn’t know there was a copyright on curly hair, which I was born with, and honest opinions. I’m not going to apologise for it. As far as being 'sasti' is concerned, Kangana claims to be the highest-paid actress, so I guess I am the 'sasti' version,” Taapsee quips.

While on the subject of opinions, Taapsee recently took a sly dig at Shahid Kapoor’s last release on the social media. “Kabir Singh (left) and Arjun Reddy are not the only films glorifying misogyny, there are several others too but not to this extent. That is one of the reasons why I do the kind of films I do, there should be a counter narrative too. I know I’ll never be able to match up to the numbers of this film but that won’t deter me. We are on the cusp of a change and I am not going to give up now,” she asserts.

There have been debates about how Kabir Singh is only a “flawed character” but the actress doesn’t buy it. “The problem is not showing flawed characters… The problem is when you glorify them and make what they are doing seem heroic. This character is so revered that whatever he does is not just accepted, it is celebrated,” she fumes.

Does she think the audience would be just as accepting of a female Kabir Singh? With a smirk, the actress retorts, “She was probably not a female Kabir Singh but Manmarziyaan’s Rumi Bagga was a flawed character too and ended up losing her love and getting divorced. The same misogynist people who didn’t see a problem with Kabir, booed Rumi. We aren’t oblivious to the double standards of our society,”

she sums up. However, the actress is quick to say that she doesn’t do films only to propagate a message. “Badla didn’t have one. I want the audience to get their time and money’s worth when they come to watch my film,” she asserts. On the personal front, she has recently purchased another three-bedroom apartment in Mumbai. “It has been a slow and steady growth. Coming from a middle class background, I have always been taught to be careful about money. My father still handles my investments so luckily that is being taken care of,” she signs off.