‘I’m A Public Figure, Not Public Property’

‘If
you
shout
at
me,
I
will
not
take
it.’
‘If
you
jump
on
me
and
pounce
on
me
or
physically
come
too
close
to
me,
that’s
not
acceptable.’

Taapsee
Pannu
has
never
shied
away
from
expressing
her
views.

She
gets
candid
as
she
discusses
important
chapters
in
her
life.

“The
majority
of
footfalls
(in
theatres)
are
male,
and
they
want
to
see
their
representation
as
a
hero
on
screen.
Their
idea
of
a
good
female
is
that
of
a
nice,
sweet,
bubbly
heroine,
not
a
female
who
stands
up
and
says
how
she
wants
things
to
be
or
how
she
wants
her
life
to
be.
So
it’s
largely
driven
by
the
audience’s
mandate,
the
kind
of
films
they
prefer
to
see,”
she
says.

‘Shah
Rukh
has
got
so
much
of
aura
and
charisma’

Taapsee
reveals
how
awestruck
she
was
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan’s
charm
on-screen
as
well
as
off
it.

“He
is
not
just
an
icon
in
front
of
the
camera
with
certain
roles,
dialogues,
which
will
be
remembered
for
generations
but
also
the
person
that
he
is
beyond
camera,
that
wit,
smartness,
spontaneity,
wow!

“You
can
keep
looking
at
him
like
a
fly
on
the
wall
because
that
man
has
got
so
much
of
aura
and
charisma.
It’s
not
that
you
have
to
be
six
feet
tall
or
have
to
look
a
certain
way
to
have
that
aura.
The
moment
that
person
starts
talking….
He
is
so
well
read.

“If
I
believed
in
something
and
he
believed
in
something
else,
he’ll
be
so
good
at
convincing
me
to
change
my
logic.
He’s
so
good
at
his
reasoning.”

She
gives
us
an
example.

“So,
for
example,
there
was
something
I
was
saying
the
other
day
that,
how
I
don’t
really
believe
in
buying
out
people
to
talk
good
about
me
or
write
good
stuff.
I
remember
talking
about
this
to
him
and
he
was
like,
there
are
billboards,
right?
And
you
pay
for
the
billboards,
for
your
ads,
for
your
display
where
you
want
to
show
it
to
the
audience.

“So
people
who
want
to
be
paid
for
saying
good
for
you,
they
should
be
treated
like
billboards.
They
should
be
used
as
marketing
tools.

“So
I
kept
thinking,
I
was
like,
yeah,
they
are
billboards.
So
he
actually
changed
my
point
of
view
so
quickly
with
his
logic
and
reasoning,
which
only
an
extremely
smart
man
can
do.”

Taapsee,
who
worked
with
SRK
in
Rajkumar
Hirani’s

Dunki,
shared
how
she
never
dreamt
of
this
moment.

“My
luckiest
moment
was
when
Rajkumar
Hirani
called
me
for

Dunki.
I
didn’t
even
have
a
dream
that
I’ll
ever
work
with
Shah
Rukh
Khan
in
a
Rajkumar
Hirani
film;
these
are
not
the
kind
of
dreams
people
like
me
have.”

‘I
really
enjoyed
looking
into
Mr
Bachchan’s
eyes’

Taapsee
worked
with
Amitabh
Bachchan
in

Badla
and

P.I.N.Kand
opened
up
about
working
with
him
as
well.

“I
have
not
been
an
ardent
movie
viewer
while
growing
up.
I
started
watching
films
mostly
in
my
college
days
because
my
parents
are
not
ardent
movie
lovers
of
sorts,”
she
says.

“I
was
mostly
into
dancing.
So,
I
probably
knew
all
the
songs
and
lyrics
by
heart
while
growing
up
but
didn’t
watch
many
films.
So
when
I
started
watching
films,
Mr
Bachchan
was
in
his
second
phase,
where
he
started
doing
different
kinds
of
roles
from
what
he
was
doing
earlier
as
this
Angry
Young
Man.

“When
I
started
watching
films,
the
heroes
were
Hrithik
Roshan,
Shah
Rukh…
these
were
the
larger-than-life
people
for
me
to
get
little
dumbstruck
with.
Mr
Bachchan
was
someone
who
was
an
elder
and
very
well-versed
with
this
industry.
The
kind
you
should
just
sit
and
listen
to.
So
I
had
no
intimidation
at
all.”

She
shared
how
the
Big
B’s
energy
used
to
charged
her
up
while
performing.

“I
really
enjoyed
looking
into
his
eyes
and
performing
because
that
man
has
some
terrific
energy
when
he’s
in
front
of
the
camera.
When
you
look
into
his
eyes
and
perform,
I
used
to
get
charged
up.
It
is
amazing,”
she
says.

Taapsee
has
also
worked
with
Abhishek
Bachchan
in

Manmarziyaan.

“It
somehow
has
trickled
down
in
the
generation
and
come
to
Abhishek
as
well.
I
feel
similar
energy
when
I
look
into
their
eyes
and
perform.
There’s
something
very
beautiful
that
they
radiate,”
she
says.

‘I’ve
never
seen
Akshay
Kumar
get
angry’

From
working
in

Naam
Shabana,
Baby,
Mission
Mangal
to
the
latest
release

Khel
Khel
Mein,
Taapsee
shares
her
experience
of
working
with
Akshay
Kumar.

“The
first
thing
I
learnt
from
him,
when
I
started
doing

Naam
Shabana,
is
the
ease
with
which
you
need
to
approach
action,”
she
says.

“I
saw
his
action
sequences
even
when
I
was
not
there.
He
had
an
extended
cameo
of
sorts
in
that
film
and
I
had
the
title
role.
So
there
were
certain
fight
sequences
that
I
just
went
on
set
to
see
with
what
ease
this
man
does
and
how
invested
he
is
in
the
whole
preparation.
He
is
the
one
who
assigned
trainers
for
my
action
training.

“Another
thing
that
I
learned
from
that
man
was
how
to
be
calm
during
adverse
times.
I’ve
never
seen
him
get
angry.
Never!
He
never
raises
his
voice.
Never
gets
riled
up.
Never
gets
worked
up.
Very
calm.
And
I
have
not
seen
that
man
bad-mouthing
anybody.

“I
enjoy
working
with
good
actors
and
sharing
the
screen
with
them.
I
love
Vidya
Balan.
I’ve
been
telling
her
every
time
I
meet
her,
I
just
love
her.”

‘I’m
a
public
figure,
not
public
property’

How
does
Taapsee
handle
rampant
trolling
and
the
invasive
paparazzi?

“I
think
I
have
chosen
a
life
which
unfortunately,
I
got
to
know
very
late
that

kuch
karo
na
karo,
troll

to
tum
hoge
hi,”
Taapsee
confesses.

“So
I
think
this
trolling
has
come
into
all
of
our
lives
lately
and
I
feel

ki
kuch
relevant

hu
mai
tabhi
to
troll

ho
rahi
hu.

“People
are
spending
time
in
writing
negativity
about
you.
So
I’m
like,
okay,
I’m
worth
their
time
in
some
way,”
she
says.

Taapsee
believes
that
despite
the
harshness
of
today’s
trolls,
they
lack
the
power
to
destroy
careers
as
it
did
in
the
earlier
times
when
critics
could
significantly
influence
an
actor’s
trajectory.

“They
cannot,
otherwise,

main
to
yahan
pe
pakka
nahi
hoti,”
she
says.

About
dealing
with
the
paparazzi,
Taapsee
states,
“I
have
a
very
clear
logic
of
the
fact
that
I’m
a
public
figure,
not
public
property.
There’s
a
very,
very,
big
difference
between
the
two.

“If
you
shout
at
me,
I
will
not
take
it.
If
you
jump
on
me
and
pounce
on
me
or
physically
come
too
close
to
me,
that’s
not
acceptable.”

‘One
really
good
thing
that
I’ve
learned
from
the
nepotism
people
is…’

As
the
debate
over
nepotism
continues
to
rage
in
the
film
industry,
Taapsee
offers
her
take
on
it.

“One
really
good
thing
that
I’ve
learned
from
the
nepotism
people
is
on
how
they
stick
together
and
support
each
other,”
Taapsee
says.

“I
feel
we
are
so
used
to
hustling,
struggling,
and
racing
ahead
of
each
other
that
we
are
respectful
towards
each
other.
Obviously,
we
respect
each
other.
We
message
each
other
when
we
see
each
other’s
work
but
whether
it’s
a
good
film
or
a
bad
film,
stand
by
this
person.
That
vibe
is
more
in
those
industry
kids
than
us
outsiders.

“We
will
keep
feeling
somewhere
deep
down,
insecure
with
each
other
only.
And
it’s
more
than
what
the
industry
kids
have.
Maybe,
because,
as
I
said,
the
mindset
of
competition
has
been
formed,”
she
says.

“The
unity
of
sorts
that
I
have
seen
that
they
will
recommend
each
other,
or
stand
by
each
other
or
be
there
for
each
other
is
in
my
personal
experience.
I
think
that’s
one
thing
we
can
take
away
from
them
in
a
good
way.”

‘Women-driven
films
are
not
made
with
humour
and
flair’

Taapsee
believes
that
films
centred
on
women
face
more
judgment
because
they
are
still
considered
‘new’
in
a
male-dominated
industry.

“What
women
are
doing
will
be
subjected
to
more
judgment
because
it’s
relatively
new
to
see
women
doing
something.
Had
it
been
as
common
as
things
with
men,
which
have
been
going
on
since
time
immemorial
—
like
he
has
to
be
the
breadwinner,
he
has
to
be
the
rightful
son,
he
has
to
prove
himself
to
be
the
rightful
husband,
he
has
to
prove
himself
to
be
the
rightful
father
—
then
it
would
be
normalised.
But
when
a
woman
talks
about
these
things
—
what
kind
of
woman
is
the
right
kind
of
wife,
mother,
or
daughter
—
these
are
newer
topics
being
viewed
from
a
different
lens
than
before,”
she
feels.

“Previously,
it
was
viewed
through
a
patriarchal
lens,
determining
what
is
okay
for
a
woman
to
be,
according
to
a
man.
Now,
the
lens
has
changed,
and
the
woman’s
perspective
is
becoming
important,
how
she
wants
to
live.
It’s
being
resisted
because
it’s
not
normal
yet.

“Hence,
it
faces
all
these
extra
judgments,
and
is
labelled
as
women-centric
cinema.
Naturally,
there
are
fewer
footfalls
in
theatres,
which
is
why
we
have
smaller
paychecks
than
men.”

According
to
Taapsee,
the
audience
preference
still
leans
towards
seeing
the
‘nice,
sweet,
bubbly
heroine’
rather
than
a
strong
female
character
who
stands
up
for
herself.

“The
majority
of
footfalls
are
male,
and
they
want
to
see
their
representation
as
a
hero
on
screen.
Their
idea
of
a
good
female
is
that
of
a
nice,
sweet,
bubbly
heroine,
not
a
female
who
stands
up
and
says
how
she
wants
things
to
be
or
how
she
wants
her
life
to
be.
So
it’s
largely
driven
by
the
audience’s
mandate,
the
kind
of
films
they
prefer
to
see,”
she
says.

The
actor
also
spoke
about
how
women-driven
films
haven’t
explored
humour
and
flair
yet,
which
are
seen
in
male-centric
movies.

“Women-driven
films
are
not
made
with
a
lot
of
humour
and
flair
as
of
now.
I
think
that’s
one
space
a
lot
of
us
will
slowly
start
tapping
into,
where
it
will
be
like,
‘We
can
also
do
comedy,
we
can
also
do
heroism,’
but
we’ll
have
to
do
it
in
a
slightly
different
way.
We
need
to
devise
ways
to
create
those
cracks
in
the
system,”
she
says.

Speaking
about
how
her
role
in

Thappadvhas
influenced
her
career
and
the
pride
she
takes
in
her
filmography,
the
actor
says,
“One
of
the
things
I
keep
in
mind
when
I
choose
my
films
is
that
a
few
years
down
the
line,
I’m
going
to
have
kids,
and
I
want
to
be
very
proud
to
tell
them,
‘This
is
my
filmography.’
I’m
extremely
proud
of
films
like

Thappad
that
have
given
me
a
strong
image
and
identity.”