Kanika Dhillon says Taapsee Pannu has ZERO tolerance for male ego; admits her bluntness initially SCARED her: “On Manmarziyaan set, Vicky Kaushal and I would wonder, ‘Ab kya hone waala hai’
Taapsee Pannu, Kanika Dhillon and Guneet Monga Kapoor attended a session organized by WIF India and Kathha Pictures on women driving Indian cinema and the rise of female-led collaborations. Kanika Dhillon raised some pertinent points about patriarchy and a lot more.
Kanika Dhillon said, “As Guneet rightly said, a hundred years of patriarchy is not going to go away in a day. We have to be constantly aware and be aware that yes, there’s a disadvantage. But what are we going to do about it? Just work harder.”
She gave a suggestion to aspirants present at the venue, “I can’t begin to underline the importance of collaborations. The industry revolves around equity and the risk is so high. But if you have collaborators whom you can trust, you need to build on that. People are very risk-averse. They will invest in people they know and they can trust. So, honestly, building relationships and giving it your all is also equally important. This especially applies for women.”
Kanika continued, “Gandhari is my sixth film with Taapsee. All these films were not given to either of us on a platter. We hustled to make it happen. I used to tell her, ‘Taapsee, bhanji maarni hai’ (laughs). It means that you have to make it happen. Another word for it is ‘jugaad’.”
She revealed, “Moreover, you have to circumvent a lot of male egos. Understanding the male ego on a set, and navigating the entire equation around it, is a very big hurdle that you have to cross.”
She pointed at Taapsee Pannu and said, “Thankfully, I have somebody with me who has zero tolerance for male ego (laughs)! Hence, there’s a lot to admire and learn from each other. After working together for six films, there’s a lot of goodness that I have taken from her.”
She raised laughs as she said, “Initially, I used to get scared. I remember during Manmarziyaan (2018), we were privately having dinner and people would keep interrupting. Vicky Kaushal and I looked at each other and said, ‘Ek aur aadmi aane waala hai. Pata nahin iske saath kya hoga. At the end of it, she would be so tired that she would ask, ‘Why are you disturbing’! She’s so in-your-face and she’ll say it. She’s not polite!”
Taapsee Pannu laughed over the last sentence and jokingly said, “Thanks, Kanika!”
Kanika, too, laughed and continued, “When somebody crosses a line, she’ll call spade a spade. Hence, we would stop eating and wonder, ‘Now what is going to happen’. But now, I admire it.”
Taapsee revealed, “Now, she calls me before hand and tells me, ‘Taapsee, aisa mat bolna. I know you might feel like saying it, but don’t say it. Forget it’!”
The post Kanika Dhillon says Taapsee Pannu has ZERO tolerance for male ego; admits her bluntness initially SCARED her: “On Manmarziyaan set, Vicky Kaushal and I would wonder, ‘Ab kya hone waala hai’ appeared first on Bollywood Hungama.