Taapsee Pannu gets ready for Anurag Kashyap’s next, a ‘ghost-less’ supernatural-thriller which rolls towards the year-end in a ‘gloomy’ setting abroad
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 8, 2019)

After Manmarziyaan, which Anurag Kashyap directed, and Saand Ki Aankh, which he has produced, Taapsee Pannu, the leading lady of both, is looking to reinvent herself with the filmmaker’s next directorial. This one is a yet-untitled supernatural thriller which, she promises, will “present something Indian cinema has never witnessed before”.

Point out that that’s a tall order, especially when one is trying to do away with ghosts in a genre that has thrived on them, the actress reasons that what’s not a part of the real world, becomes supernatural, like Christopher Nolan’s Inception. “My last thriller, Game Over, had some scenes that made you sit up and ask, ‘What just happened?’ This one won’t be spooky in that sense,” she asserts.

Prod her more and she adds that she doesn’t want to reveal too much because it’s a new concept but admits that there are no jumpscares, gore or dark visuals. “It’s the supernatural element that affects the lives of all those involved and also my appearance,” she adds.

Taapsee will be sporting more than one look in the film but informs that she will not have to go through a physical metamorphosis as she did to play ‘Revolver Daadi’ Prakashi Tomar in her upcoming sports biopic. “In this film you will be able to recognise me easily, but it will be a different Taapsee from the one you know,” she says enigmatically.

Anurag made her dye her hair red in Manmarziyaan. What does he have in mind for her this time around? “Knowing him, he’s probably going to throw a bomb at me. I’m mentally prepared that two days before we roll, he will expect something drastic. Apart from going bald, I’m ready for anything,” she chuckles, hoping she gets this script well in advance and not two days before they start shooting, so she has some more clarity on her character and her confrontation with the supernatural.

The film will be shot outside India since it requires a particular setting. “The houses need to be a certain kind. We will be shooting the film towards the year-end and many countries at that time are freezing. Our film isn’t set during winter, so we don’t need to go anywhere chilly. We are looking for a place that is gloomy,” she explains.

The story has many characters but there won’t be a male protagonist. Taapsee will lead from the front again. “I don’t have a choice,” she laughs. “I hope I don’t let anyone down.”