Taapsee Pannu continues to make headlines for her unfiltered views on Bollywood amid her film Assi running in theatres. The actor recently earned praise for her performance in courtroom drama which released in theatres last Friday. Directed by Anubhav Sinha, the film marks another collaboration between the pair after Mulk and Thappad.
While promoting the social drama, Taapsee Pannu spoke to Galatta Plus in a candid interview. During the chat, she discussed repetitive casting trends in Bollywood. She also revealed where she sees herself in next 10 years from now.
Taapsee Pannu On Repetitive Casting in Bollywood
During the interview, Taapsee Pannu addressed the challenges actors face when trying to break stereotypes. She explained that many filmmakers tend to stay within their comfort zones instead of exploring new possibilities.
She said, “It is difficult. Difficult, not for me but for people to imagine because we are so happy in our comfort zone of imagination. ‘Okay this is this type of role, so this one will suit.’ Nobody wants to really think out of the box,” she said.
Taapsee Pannu revealed that she has personally questioned directors about these patterns. “I have had conversations with certain top directors here when I go meet them. First, I have to break the notion that I am okay doing films where I am not leading the film. In the sense that it is not my story. Then I have to tell them that I would want to do something lighter. It is not that if I have to be there it has to be an issue attached with it.”
She further shared her frustration over repeated casting choices. “I really question them. Why would you want to take the same faces for the same roles. It is unfair to them as well. It is unfair to people like me who would want to experiment with their craft.”
According to her, such decisions often reflect creative complacency. “It is your complacency as a director to only think that oh- this is a certain type of a character and who looks like this? Only these girls! Then they are only going to bring what they have brought to the table in some other film!”
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In the same conversation, Taapsee Pannu reflected on her early career in the South film industry. She recalled how the idea of an actress’ shelf life influenced her thinking back then.
The actress said, “Went ahead and said this in a lot of interviews when I was working in the South that, uh, when they asked, ‘What do you, uh, where do you see yourself five years or 10 years from now?’ So I said, ‘You know, five years is what I think my shelf life is.’”
She continued, “So if you ask me 10 years from now, maybe in some other country, just doing something else. And, uh, because when I’m done doing the leading lady parts, then I would want to just do something else. I don’t want to go down to doing insignificant parts.”
Taapsee Pannu clarified that this mindset came from what she was repeatedly told. She shared, “I have actually said this on record because I was always told that this is a shelf life, because I was doing those kind of films.” So unless the sudden shift happened in the kind of films people started watching in mainstream Hindi cinema, and I realised, okay, actresses can be the leading face. And I realised the power of knowing the language.”
Her Work Front
Taapsee Pannu began her acting career in Tamil and Telugu cinema. She later made her Bollywood debut with Chashme Baddoor. Over the years, she built a strong filmography with performances in Baby, Pink and Thappad. More recently, audiences saw her in Dunki (2023), Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024) and Khel Khel Mein (2024).
