Taapsee Pannu reveals she turned down roles to avoid typecasting: ‘Don’t cast me in this, it’s bad for your film’
Taapsee Pannu has spoken about her decision to turn down certain film roles to avoid being confined to a particular image in the industry. Known for featuring in female-led and issue-based films such as Pink, Mulk, Thappad and Assi, the actor is now preparing for the release of Gandhari, an action thriller centred on a mother’s fight to save her daughter.
In a recent interview with news agency PTI, Taapsee discussed the challenges of avoiding typecasting in an industry where actors can often become associated with a specific kind of role. She said filmmakers frequently rely on familiar casting patterns, with certain actors repeatedly chosen for glamorous parts and others for more hard-hitting subjects.
“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. 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 said.
Taapsee also reflected on how her career developed differently from the conventional mainstream path. “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,” she said.
Directed by Devashish Makhija and written and produced by Kanika Dhillon, Gandhari follows a mother navigating danger and hidden truths after her daughter goes missing. Taapsee described the character’s response as something beyond limits when a child is taken away.
“It’s more like a mother’s response, like how far can she go if her child is taken away from her? It’s different from a crime against women. A child can be anyone’s child, but the point is that if her offspring is taken away and she has to take things into her own hands, how far can she go? According to my understanding, there is no limit; you have unleashed a superpower that no one can control,” Pannu said.
The film also features Ishwak Singh, Jatin Sarna, Swastika Mukherjee, Mita Vashisht and Chhaya Kadam. Gandhari premieres on Netflix on September 3.
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