Taapsee Pannu says Dunki is a gift for doing films like Assi for 10 years: ‘I don’t know how long it’ll take to get another one’ | Bollywood News

Assi starts where Pink finished. It’s not like we’re living in a totally different society now. The conversations that happened with Pink are going to the next level with Assi.

While you played the survivor in Pink, you play a lawyer here. How would you describe her association with her client?

When we did Thappad, there was a lawyer character there as well. How that character dealt with me is pretty much like how it’s here. Obviously here, it’s more elaborate and in focus than in Thappad, which was more from Amrita’s POV. But in this one, we’ve been these characters before mine being her savi0ur. I’ve been professional enough wanting to do it in the right, complete way. So that made us behave like professionals and individuals first, women later. If you see the arc in the film, it’s a pretty cold way of dealing with the case because being a public prosecutor in a Delhi court, you probably have a lot of cases like these. And if I start being emotional or dramatic about it from the word go, it wouldn’t be real. The beauty lies in which exact moment made it personal, and that’s why it’s beautiful to see that arc.
Kani Kusruti and Taapsee Pannu in Assi.
Do you think the dynamic was different in Pink because it was a man, and that too Amitabh Bachchan, playing your lawyer in Pink?

First of all, that was consent. This is way bigger. We had allegations like, “Why do you need a man?” There’s always a counterpoint saying if it was a woman, you would’ve said it’s convenient. Obviously, when you have an Amitabh Bachchan portraying a lawyer, you as an audience feel like listening to this man because he’s going to have the final word. I don’t know how much of that will go with me or not, but sir told me in a phone call, “When you say those lines, it’ll really make an impact.” I revelled in that line. This is a feeling I’ve only felt for Amitabh Bachchan before. How many would talk about an actor like that? I don’t know if he said it seriously or not, but I’m going to take it seriously and enjoy it for the rest of my life.
Taapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bachchan in Pink.
Assi also has a track about vigilante justice. Do you think that school of thought is also being perpetuated by Indian films?

This whole vengeance and the hero rising and saving, just weigh in, at what cost? And then decide if it’s a hero or a villain. Secondly, I’m fine with the saviour saving some other character in the film as long as you don’t pin a gender on that saviour. Because never in that word ‘saviour’ it’s mentioned that it’s a man.

Not too many actors would do an Assi or a Gandhari after a Dunki. What gives you the incentive to do that?

A film like Dunki is difficult to get for someone like me because I’m not some commercial, mainstream, viable heroine. I got it because that role probably needed someone like me. That’s what I’ve been told. That’s because I did films like Assi and Gandhari before. This is what’s given me my space and identity in the industry. So, this is my reality. Dunki is a gift I get for these 10 years. I don’t know how long it’ll take for me to get another one. It’s a struggle because they still have to come to terms with, ‘Oh, we have to show her all glammed up.’ I started my career in South with massy films. I started my Hindi career with David Dhawan. It doesn’t get more commercial and in-your-face like that. Then I’ve worked with Anubhav Sinha and Anurag Kashyap. It’s very crazy choices of directors. I can do this and that. I know what gave me a certain audience. It might be small, but I’m glad I’ve earned those people’s trust. Not every actress can have that privilege. So, this is my home ground.
A still from Dunki starring Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu.
Do you think doing a Dunki also leverages your star power, which helps you do an Assi?

I don’t get it as frequently as I’d want to so that it keeps enhancing exponentially. I still have to wait for a few years to get something like this. But of course, a Shah Rukh Khan film will get you the reach. There are no two ways about it. Everybody is using Shah Rukh Khan (laughs)!

Also Read — Bhumi Pednekar says she’s not the audience for ‘hyper masculine’ films of today: ‘Women are pushed out of creative and technical spaces’

Kani told me she’s not confident of doing Hindi films because of the language constraint. Do you not feel it while doing Tamil and Telugu movies?

My frequency of doing both Telugu and Tamil films dropped exponentially not because I thought now I’ve arrived in Hindi. It’s because I realized how much I could do because of the command I have over the language and what wrong I was doing there. So, now I do once in two years because now, I understand Telugu and Tamil. I get so much love from the Malayalam film industry that I feel guilty of not knowing the language. I’d have done a Malayalam film way more frequently in life had I known the language. But I can’t be unfair to the medium when I know what knowing the language can do to your performance. So, I understand 100% where she’s coming from. I can feel the pain she must be going through mouthing those lines because I’ve gone through it for years every day of my life there and learnt the language the hard way. People don’t realize, but it’s especially painful for actors who want to perform and not just fit a bill and move ahead.