‘Don’t cast me, it’s bad for films’

Taapsee Pannu urges filmmakers not to cast her if audiences can easily guess the film’s ending

Taapsee Pannu says she has often told filmmakers not to cast her in roles that audiences can easily predict, as she does not want to be trapped in a particular image. The Delhi-born actor, who charted an unconventional path in cinema with hard-hitting dramas such as Pink, Mulk, Thappad and Assi, said she would love to do a fun film like Khel Khel Mein, the 2024 comedy where she was part of an ensemble cast.

“Everybody is going into their comfort zone and using tried-and-tested methods. For instance, for glamorous roles, they (industry) have a set of five actresses they can cast, and for hard-hitting, issue-based films, they have another set of five actresses to cast,” the actor told PTI.

“I’ve actually started turning down films for this reason, telling makers that the audience will easily guess the ending. So, (I tell them) ‘Don’t cast me in this, it’s bad for your film’. I’ve gone and ‘de-sold’ myself to a few films,” she added.

‘Want to experiment beyond strong roles’

Taapsee, who will be next seen in action-drama Gandhari, said she has played strong women characters on screen and enjoyed them too, but these roles came to her at a time when conventional female lead roles were not an option. Taapsee said, “It’s a snowball effect. From the beginning of my career, I had no options in regular mainstream cliched roles, which are actually money-spinners for actresses.

I didn’t get those kinds of roles; hence I took the other type of roles, and to my luck, those films and roles later became mainstream.” Taapsee added she wants to experiment with characters that audiences would not necessarily associate with her, like her role of an influencer in Khel Khel Mein. She also credited films such as Soorma, Mission Mangal, and Dunki for allowing her to step away from “hardcore roles”. “They helped me ease out the pressure because psychologically, it's not healthy to keep doing these films back-to-back,” she said.