I want people to believe that I can pull off more than one or two types of genres or characters.
— Taapsee Pannu
With every movie, I am trying in my own little way to do whatever I can to change the way female characters have been presented and how an actress that comes from a family outside the industry is making an impact.
I feel it's better we have an open mindset to see what exactly we are trying to say. In 'Mulk,' we have not criticised any community, and neither have we said any community is good or bad. We have just shown the true picture and left it to the audience to make the choice.
Eve-teasing used to happen almost on a daily basis in Delhi. I used to travel in DTC buses while going to college for the longest time. I got my car when I was 19. So for two years before getting a car, I used to travel in DTC buses. And eve-teasing used to happen almost daily.
I didn't have a list of dos and don'ts when I started acting, but one thing was very clear that I would only work in films which I would enjoy watching.
The trolls don't realise that they are actually helping me become more popular, and in return, I am helping them grab a celebrity's attention. I think my trolls and I are very good friends.
I am a self-proclaimed feminist in a lot of ways, but I am not going to say that I will take a pink flag and run to India Gate with that.
I am not much of a trained actor. I have to get my brain and heart to go deep inside the situation, and then, probably, I can start acting. It takes me a little while to get out of it.
I truly consider sports stars as the real stars because they represent our country, which makes them really stand apart. I don't think I can be one of them, and I just find them extremely confident and self-made.
This industry is quick to stereotype. People had started talking about how I was primarily being part of women-centric movies. I didn't want to be labelled as part of a mahila morcha.
You have to keep proving yourself - every film - until the audience believes you can do anything.
What matters is how good you are in the screen space you get.
I've seen people being in awe of Anurag Kashyap, but I'm not a fangirl.
Whenever I've surprised my audience, I've gained something out of it.
I feel that I'm a perpetual struggler. I always keep struggling to get certain roles, and when I get them, I struggle to get certain types of films.
I don't understand indie films. So, I won't do such films.
I have never used a fairness cream in my life. I don't think being fair is in any way superior to any other colour. And when I started working, I found that being fair has actually backfired for me. I have lost a few films because I'm too fair.
Having done both commercial and hard-hitting cinema, I can say none of them are easy.
Cinema is a form of art, and like every other art form, cinema also needs freedom of expression.
I have taken my friends' bikes for rides, but my parents never allowed me to get one for myself, as they think bikes are unsafe. Personally, though, I love bikes.
My technique is different, and I am more spontaneous. I don't like rehearsing.
People think that unless you become the de-glam girl, who has horrible things happening to her, you're not really acting; all it takes to cry for the camera is some glycerine. Not doing anything is what's difficult; I know a lot of actors who will agree with me.
Honestly, trolls don't affect me anymore. In fact, I want to use social media for the benefit of my genuine followers - I pick up one or two tweets and use my sense of humour to entertain them.
I have this habit of not rehearsing a lot; I don't go on practicing my dialogues, pauses, and actions.
I judge my film choices based on the director, and then I see how much the story has affected me when I read it or when I hear it in the narration. Then comes how important my role is in it, but primarily director, script, and then role.
By being part of films like 'Judwaa 2,' I can ensure that I garner more fans, who'd then want to watch me in other powerful films.
I am an outsider. I was never offered the kind of roles where I could play the glamorous diva, because there are already so many of them doing it - and doing it well. So I had to bring to the table much more than just looking good.
A prequel to 'Baby' was never on the cards, but when the movie was successful, we realized from the audience response to my character that they wanted to see more of me.
Working in a hugely, commercially successful film benefits everyone.
Doing films like 'Judwaa' helps me relax, and that should be my reason for doing it, not to compensate for doing films like 'Pink.'
I genuinely don't feel like a star, with the kind of struggle I've had to go through.
Since I am an actress and not a social activist, cinema is the best medium for me to state my views.
I play on my honesty. Audience like me because they find me honest.
I have always been inclined towards sports.
No matter how beautiful actors are, it is not easy to look drop-dead gorgeous in every shot in a commercial film. To carry yourself as if you are the diva, it is not an easy job.
Over the years, we have been conditioned that certain communities need to be looked upon in a certain typical way. So I think we need to question the logic behind it. 'Mulk' is going to question that logic - and where did it start and why did it start and the need to change it immediately.
I played a biker in one of my earliest films in Telugu, 'Mr Perfect.'
I will do all genres. I will do intense roles, along with the kind of films that I have grown up watching, like 'Biwi No. 1' and 'Judwaa.' But I won't do films where, if you take me out of the script, nothing changes.
As a child, I wanted to be an astronaut, then a fighter pilot, and then later, as I grew up, I was focused on scoring high marks so that I could do an MBA in marketing.
Nepotism and outsiders are two sides of the same coin that is Bollywood. They both have to co-exist. Both have their share of struggles.
I will stand for equality, and that doesn't mean giving me reservation. I would like to fight for it; just give me a fair chance. That's what being a feminist is.
When you are in safe hands of a brilliant filmmaker and an ace co-actor, there is nothing to fear.
With 'Judwaa 2,' I captured the kind of market that I could have never penetrated into on another occasion.
In Hyderabad, it was really warm. I had decided to move there even before my first film released.
We have to jump into the competition and prove ourselves every moment.
I didn't even plan Bollywood! I did my first film just to experience something new, and not start a career!
I make sure I don't repeat my genre, don't repeat a role for sure.
I'll always have to make sure things happen eventually and don't slip from my hands, from under my nose. I'll always have to be on my toes.
I didn't know how to act, but I was open to learning. I was not delusional that looks would help me sail through.
To me, a good film is one that can keep me engaged for two hours.
