She may have been part of Chashme Baddoor (2013) and Judwaa 2 (2017), but a sharply executed comedy was missing from Taapsee Pannu’s filmography. Which is why the dry and wicked humour of Looop Lapeta immediately grabbed her attention. While the German hit, Run Lola Run (1998), serves as the blueprint of the Netflix film, Pannu says that director Aakash Bhatia has reimagined the story, giving it an almost whimsical touch.

“A lot of brainstorming happened before approaching this character. I loved the film’s humour. It has the kind of humour I enjoy in real life — sarcastic and dry. Aakash and I had to sit down and understand how each line had to be delivered so that it doesn’t come across as offensive when it’s not meant to be so. The humour was one of the big reasons to do the film,” says the actor. She plays the down-on-luck Savi caught in a time loop as she tries to save her boyfriend — essayed by Tahir Raj Bhasin — from a sticky situation.

Starting the year with a quirky comedy, she will soon follow it up with another light-hearted affair in Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan? As much as she loves the hard-hitting dramas, Pannu is happy to balance them with a laugh riot or two. “I am glad that people have come to me with comedies. It was a genre that was missing from my films. Also, I wanted to wait for the right kind of comedy. [I was clear that my character] shouldn’t be an object on which jokes are cracked, all the time. She should be equally active in cracking jokes. I am glad these movies are added to my filmography because I will have a good laugh when I watch them again, years down the line.”

Genres, however, are a secondary discussion. Pannu asserts that at the end of the day, all she seeks are unconventional stories that can surprise the audience. “I choose a film when it is out of the box or risky, and offers something new. Why will someone spend time and effort on something they have seen before multiple times? I don’t believe in wasting my audiences’ time.”