Taapsee Pannu cancels her birthday, says she will now turn 33 next year
Ankita Chaurasia (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 1, 2020)

Taapsee Pannu has declared her 33rd birthday cancelled. “I refuse to age sitting at home; I’ll turn 33 next year now,” she chuckles, adding that this is the first year that her parents are with her in Mumbai and they will celebrate quietly at home. “I’m not a party person anyway, so birthdays are usually spent with family or on a vacation with my sister,” says the actress, who had brought in the day with a family get-together in Delhi last year. “It reminded me of my childhood birthdays where the extended family came for dinner after a day of ditching the uniform and wearing fancy clothes to school.”

The actress usually takes the day off from work and has never had a surprise celebration. “I’m the one who does all the planning, everyone else just gives it away,” she mock complains, relaying how, this year, her sister ordered a mug for her with ‘Crazy Plant Lady’ inscribed on it as a gift, but didn’t bother to hide it. “Only after I opened it and thanked the brand on social media did she realise, and then was livid I was crediting someone else for it,” guffaws Taapsee.

As of now, the only gift she is looking for is going back to work. “My acting muscles are getting corroded. I’ve been threatening producers to start work or else I’ll forget acting,” she laughs, adding that she will choose from Anurag Kashyap’s supernatural thriller and the Run Lola Run adaptation, Looop Lapeta, to resume work. “The former will require only a month to shoot on two-three locations. Even if we shoot outdoors, there won’t be a lot of people involved. The latter can go on the floors as soon as we get permission to shoot in Goa,” she informs.

But what about her form for sports films, Rashmi Rocket and Shabaash Mithu? “I start the day with functional training and get in my cardio by running 2 km in the evening. If it rains, I climb up the 45 flight of stairs in my building. I’ve been diligent about it,” she says, adding that along with keeping her in shape, working out also helps her stay sane. “I took a break of three-four days to get my wisdom tooth removed and negativity crept in. There’s enough going on to make you depressed and the lack of happy hormones released due to physical activity affects mental health.”

At the beginning of the lockdown, Taapsee had decided to learn a new South Indian language, but it didn’t go to plan. “Instead, I discovered gardening, which took up most of my time. I also cooked a lot and detested it. Now, my mother has taken over the kitchen,” shares the actress, who also spent time reading scripts. “I have finalised two more scripts during the lockdown, which I’ll be signing as soon as I get to pencil a date in my diary. They celebrate real heroes too,” she reveals.

The birthday girl still has Anubhav Sinha and Sujoy Ghosh on her wishlist. “I am a chipkoo person with some people and keep pestering them to come up with a script for me. Anurag has already committed one,” she laughs.

Of late, Taapsee has been making headlines for taking on Kangana Ranaut for calling her a B-grade actress. She insists she’s unfazed by the name-calling. “Thappad, Badla, Mission Mangal, Saand Ki Aankh may be B-grade films in her opinion; I respect that. I took acting seriously after watching The Dirty Picture (2011), followed by Kahaani, English Vinglish (2012) and Queen (2014). For me, the precedence was set by Vidya Balan; Kangana was a huge part of it too. But why take away my credit?” she argues, adding that none of her films are backed by people that the actress is abusing. “I have five films in hand; I’m not a needy outsider. She is defending an outsider by targeting another,” she fumes. “I’ve worked hard to be here. I hope the world becomes kinder and more considerate post the Coronavirus pandemic.”

The actress dismisses reports of a ‘cold war’ with Jacqueline Fernandez
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 3, 2017)

Taapsee Pannu’s 30th birthday on August 1 heralded a new chapter in her life when she was handed over the keys to her new apartment in Andheri. The Delhi girl plans to move in with sister Shagun soon. “It’s a three-and-half BHK, 10 minutes away from my previous place. I’m hoping to celebrate Diwali in my new home. I own an apartment in Delhi but that was purely for investment. I had planned that before I turn 30, I should have my own apartment, car, a sorted career and no loans. It wouldn’t have felt like a gift to myself if it had come a day before or after my birthday,” the actress smiles.

She admits she has wanted her own place since she first set foot in Maximum City but suffered from a Delhi hangover when she set out to find an apartment that would be a perfect fit. “I always crib about space and wanted something that was reminiscent of Delhi houses — someplace where I can go for walks. I also wanted a balcony with a view,” she informs, proud that she achieved the impossible without the help of real estate brokers.

Now, she has busied herself with decorating her pad. “I picked up some lights from Koh Samui during my holiday in April. We are going to have a contractor help us execute our plan for the interiors. My sister is taking care of everything because I will be running around for movie promotions,” she says.

The decorating will be followed by a month-long housewarming as she has a large extended family. “I don’t want to call everyone at the same time as I won’t be able to host them properly,” Taapsee reasons.

The actress has just returned from the last schedule of David Dhawan’s Judwaa 2 in Mauritius with co-stars Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Dhawan. “Mauritius was the perfect place for a wrap as some portions of the original Judwaa were also shot there. We figured going back would work like a lucky charm for us. We had gettogethers everyday after pack-up. I love beaches and we were singing and dancing, in perennial party mode,” says the actor.

She harks back to the time the trio shot with the original Judwaa, Salman Khan, who has a guest spot in the sequel. “I was probably the only one who had never worked with him before so I was unusually quiet on the set that day. I just listened to everyone and observed what was happening,”she reminisces.

Speaking of on-set shenanigans, the film has been dogged by reports of a cold war between Jacqueline and her. Refuting them she says,“The rumours surfaced when we were yet to shoot together — not many of our scenes overlap. During the last schedules, we put all that talk to rest. I admire Jackie’s energy, she has a positive vibe, and I learnt how to smile through everything from her.”

Next up is Anubhav Sinha’s social thriller, Mulk, with Rishi Kapoor and Prateik Babbar. She promises the film will make people think as it is inspired by real events.

Does she feel like a star yet? “I don’t feel the need to behave like one, I still think I’m a struggler and I tell everyone that. I will always struggle to make sure that every film I do works and won’t ever feel that I have arrived. I’ll never switch on the autopilot mode,” she asserts.

While she’s often quoted as saying that films happened to her by sheer coincidence, Taapsee admits that it has actually been a carefully charted out journey for her. “For the first couples of years people thought that I wasn’t signing films. In the last one year, the questions have changed from ‘Do you feel you’ve got your due?’ to ‘Don’t you think things are going too fast?’ It doesn’t happen overnight, it has been a well-planned mix of highoctane commercial stuff and substantial fare that helps me build my individuality and my audience,”she says.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 31, 2017)