There are two kinds of actors - the ones who have grown up wanting to be in show business and the others who accidentally get into it. Taapsee Pannu falls into the latter category. She made her Hindi film debut in 2013 with Chashme Badoor but her breakthrough came in a ten-minute part in Akshay Kumar’s Baby. Since then she’s done of bunch of films - Pink, Judwaa 2, Naam Shabana and most recently Mulk - carefully evading the risk of being stereotyped. In her usual irreverent avatar, she talks to us about Manmarziyaan, not wanting to be a ‘diva’ and why she doesn’t believe in too much preparation.
Q. You’ve done a really diverse bunch of roles ranging from Pink to Judwaa to Mulk recently. But when you’re going from a Judwaa to a Mulk, is there a switch that happens?
Taapsee Pannu: I really wish there was, life would be easier then. The environment that you get into when you’re on set, that sets the tone for us. Even when you wear a particular outfit your personality changes, your walk changes, the way you behave changes. When I wore that coat in Mulk, I knew I had to walk like that and talk like that. You know what you’re getting into, so it would be dishonest for me to say that there is a process and that I’m taking notes.
I have read the script, I know what I’m getting into so automatically when I step onto that set, my gears change.
Q. But even for intense films like Pink, Naam Shabana, there isn’t preparation?
For Naam Shabana, there was physical preparation, so I had martial arts classes going on for months prior to the shoot. But emotionally nothing much, not even workshops.
Q. So then how does the difference between your characters come about, whether it is in body language or the way you speak?
I talk to my director extensively, to understand what he expects from me. Does he want something specific? We discuss it and sketch this imaginary picture of a person in our head who will talk in a certain way, walk a certain way and then I go ahead and execute it.
Q. The trailer of Manmarziyaan looks intense, and represents the confusion most millennials deal with. What drew you to it?
I was taken in this film because I am very close to Rumi (her character in the film) in real life. I was asked to just come as myself on set. After the narration I wasn’t even given the script because Anurag Kashyap asked me to not prepare anything and just come on set.
There’s a certain part in the film though where certain decisions taken by Rumi are not something I would personally agree with because I’m a very black-and-white person and Rumi has a grey area to her which I don’t approve of. I told Kanika Dhillon, the writer when she was narrating the script to me that I really like it but I’m not sure if I will relate to this grey area of Rumi. This is because I’m judging her so I won’t really end up liking her. I’m disconnecting from the protagonist which is not a good thing. Her response to that was, ‘That’s the challenge for you as an actor, that even if she makes these decisions that may not seem right on the surface, she’s real and she’s relatable and make the audience root for her.’
Q. How do you come to terms with this difference in thought between you and your character? How do you bridge that gap?
I argue for hours with my writer and director. We have fights, get upset with each other. and say things like ‘Oh you’re not listening to me’. But I ask a lot of questions, and that is a statutory warning I give all my directors . So, either you get convinced, or convince me. I really need to believe in it. So there would be a lot of arguments and then eventually Anurag Kashyap will play his trump card and say ‘trust me’ in the most charming fashion. Then the argument would automatically end because he would not answer anything after that. But I also agreed to do the film in spite of my difference in opinion with Rumi because I knew that I was in the hands of Anurag Kashyap and Aanand L. Rai.
Q. Do you watch love stories, and like them?
Taapsee: I watch some of them, if I connect to it when I watch the trailer. My idea of going to a film is when I watch a trailer and connect instantly to it. There was this film called Love Rosie which was a very sappy love story, but I really liked the trailer so I went and saw the film.
Q. The music of Manmarziyaan is incredible. Some actors have often said that they create a soundtrack to get into the skin of their characters. You’re not a trained actor, what is the process like for you?
Taapsee: Sometimes when I have to cry and have to be be extremely heartbroken on screen then I might listen to music. I did that during Pink also because I remember there was a Lady Gaga song that released where she talks about the molestation that she goes through which she performed at the Oscars also. That song, I used to keep hearing on loop when I used to perform certain scenes. So in scenes where I have to be extremely low and sad, it helps me. But for Manmarziyaan, the manifestation of heartbreak is not in a soppy manner. Anurag Kashyap told me one thing - Rumi does not cry. So the only time you see Rumi really crying and having a meltdown will probably be near the climax where she has taken the biggest decision of her life. It has to be a big reason to show her crying, he didn’t want those conventional scenes where a girl is sobbing away.
Q. Crafting a love story has become so hard because one- there are so many of them, and two what new conflicts could you possible create? The rich-girl poor-boy trope or the opposition of parents can no longer work. Is it the Anurag Kashyap edge that makes Manmarziyaan different?
Taapsee: Yes, absolutely and a lot of credit also goes to Kanika to create this world first of all, to construct it and then Anurag Kashyap to add the masala in it. He adds this quirkiness to the story which is very relatable, very millennial, which is not like you said marriage because of parental pressure.
A lot of times in love triangles you see the female character as this poor girl stuck between two men who is like a tennis ball being thrown from one side of the court to the other. This film is not like that, here she is the racket, the ball and the court, she’s in complete control. It is quite a fresh take on love stories.
Q. You also said that people would keep telling you, “You look so beautiful in real life” and you said to yourself, “Do I look ugly on screen?”. But aren’t people able to make the distinction considering there is so much exposure on social media?
Taapsee: I don’t really know what people are thinking when they say this to me. People meet me and say “Arre aap toh kitne patle ho” and I ask myself, “When did I look so fat on screen?” Or that I look fairer in reality. I didn’t know how to process these things, whether to take it as a compliment or an insult. Now I tell myself that was a character and this the real me, so it’s fine.
Q. But this also shows the unrealistic standard of beauty that has been created, and people are way harsher on women right?
Taapsee: This has been the case for years. We have always judged women way more than men.
If a girl engages in certain activities people question her ‘character’ or that she looks like this so she might be a certain type. Women have always been subjected to these silly parameters.
I think we are taking time to get out of this mode. Personally, I found myself looking extremely beautiful in Mulk. People came out and asked me, “How come you look so good as a lawyer?” And I said to myself, “Yes I do look great.” Everyone is always going to have an opinion and after a point I just switch off.
Would this pressure to always look good dissuade you from taking on a role where you would have to look disheveled and not like a glamorous heroine?
Taapsee: No it won’t dissuade me from doing a film but I’m a typical commercial movie-goer. By commercial I don’t mean I want to see films that are no-brainers. I want to be stimulated but at the same time its not like I love the opposite spectrum either. For example I don’t like European cinema. I don’t get it, so I’m a commercial movie-goer who wants a good story. So when I go to a theatre and spend three hundred bucks which is my hard earned money I want to see something which is appealing on screen. The definition of beauty is very subjective, so for me a beautiful person can be someone who is probably bruised and battered but there is still something that is very beautiful about that person. I cannot look like someone who you can’t bear to see on screen, I wouldn’t watch that film then.
Q. But it’s also got to do with context, I’ve seen films where the actor is in jail but her hair is still perfectly blow-dried and I cringe when I see that.
Taapsee: When I see that I laugh. But that’s not the standard for me, it’s subjective. I might have the worst hair day but great lighting might make me look beautiful. It also depends on what gets created in that moment, but yes it has to be appealing to the eyes on screen. Even when I’m dying on screen I will be appealing to the eyes, but that doesn’t have to conform to your beauty standard.
Q. You mentioned having a bad hair day. In today’s scenario that seems to be a big crime right? You’re being clicked everywhere and airport and gym looks have become a thing.
Taapsee: They can keep capturing me, I don’t care anymore. Initially I was worried because people tell you that you’re an actress, you should dress a certain way and project a certain image. But a few years later I realised people like me because of who I am, and the fact that I’m relatable like any other average Indian girl so why am I trying to be like a diva. I just cut this crap out.
I don’t care about airport or gym looks. I don’t even go to the gym! I dress the way I want, if I’m coming out of a salon with wet hair and water dripping I don’t care. This is how I am, take it or leave it.
I’ve made peace with myself and it’s a great feeling.
Q. This emphasis on creating a glamorous image is also because externals like brand endorsements are linked to it, does that concern you?
Taapsee: Whatever work I get be it my endorsements or my films are because of the relatability factor. Brands are not stupid, they are selling products to the average Indian person and if I’m not looking like them how will they relate to me? If you are always a perfect ten and then in your advertisement you say that she used this product and looked like this nobody is going to buy it because the audience will she always looked this good she doesn’t need this product! I embrace my imperfections and that is going to be my biggest USP.
Q. You’ve been working nonstop from October to May and Manmarziyaan is your fourth release this year. Is there a fear of being burnt out?
Taapsee: I choose these films in a way that I don’t repeat myself so everything is new, and I choose to work with people with whom I know I will have a blast with. In none of these films have I had to drag myself to the set..
I landed last night at 12am after promoting my Telugu film and I’m here since morning talking about Manmarziyaan non-stop and I’m going to do that continuously for the next two weeks. This included dancing and jumping around for all the promotional concerts that we are doing. But no complaints, I have loved doing these films.
Q. Is there a fear of being repetitive in your acting style, because you’re working so much? You know what buttons to push for a certain emotion?
Taapsee: The characters I play are so crazily different that there is absolutely no fear of being repetitive in my expression of emotions. Rumi from Manmarziyaan is in complete contrast to my character in my next film Sujoy Ghosh’s Badla where I play a cut throat corporate professional. Even if I move slightly from the tone of my character my directors catch me so that also helps. The people I choose to work with therefore is also very important because I know I’m in safe hands and they will catch that false note.
Q. You’ve managed to create such different roles in such a short span of time. You said that you’d love to do something dark like Gone Girl, what’s next on the agenda?
Taapsee: If I do something dark it has to be like Gone Girl, which is extremely commercial but also very twisted. It has to be exciting to see, not like Anurag Kashyap’s dark films which I absolutely can’t see. I say this to him also, put some lights atleast! (laughs) I’m kidding, but yes definitely something like Gone Girl would be up my alley. Also I really wanted to do something on the lines of X-men and Avengers. I’d love to be a superhero, so hopefully I get a chance to do that.
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