Have To Rely On Content To Pull Audience To Theatres: Taapsee Pannu
"I am not a big star that audience will flock to theatres with my name", says Taapsee Pannu, who believes in relying on content to pull the attention of the viewers towards her work.
"I
am
not
a
big
star
that
audience
will
flock
to
theatres
with
my
name",
says
Taapsee
Pannu,
who
believes
in
relying
on
content
to
pull
the
attention
of
the
viewers
towards
her
work.
For
Taapsee's
films,
be
it
Naam
Shabana,
Pink,
Mulk
or
her
latest
release
Badla
word-of-mouth
has
played
a
crucial
role
in
making
them
a
success.
And
the
actor
says
positive
response
from
the
audience
has
made
her
a
confident
performer.
"I
am
a
person
about
whom
people
are
slowly
trying
to
form
an
image
through
my
films.
I
am
slowly
trying
to
gain
confidence
of
the
audience.
The
day
it
will
be
achieved
then
I
can
expect
that
my
films
will
make
noise
before
the
release
too.
(For
now)
I
have
to
rely
on
the
content.
I
do
feel
due
to
the
word-of-mouth,
my
films
tend
to
penetrate
more," Taapsee
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
Citing
example
of
Sujoy
Ghosh's
"Badla",
the
31-year-old
actor
added,
"(No
matter)
How
much
I
speak,
there
is
a
strict
limit
up
to
which
my
word
would
travel.
Also
the
film
is
a
suspense
thriller
and
considering
the
genre,
there
is
not
much
I
could
say
about
the
film.
We
all
had
to
wait
and
watch
how
it
was
received."
According
to
Taapsee,
the
audience
has
been
warming
up
to
female-centric
films
and
it
is
a
good
time
to
be
a
Bollywood
heroine.
"In
a
male
protagonist
film,
the
hero
matters
more.
With
a
female
protagonist
film,
content
matters
slightly
more.
They
(audience)
are
giving
us
a
chance.
For
female-centric
films,
they
will
go
to
the
theatres
on
the
basis
of
the
trailer,
while
with
the
men,
it
is
about
who
is
the
hero.
"The
way
things
are
changing,
let's
hope
a
film
with
a
heroine
opens
at
the
same
level
as
one
with
a
male
protagonist
one."
Taapsee
said
she
consciously
decided
to
challenge
the
stereotype
of
a
'mastermind' by
not
being
over
dramatic
or
playing
the
victim
card
in
Badla,
which
features
her
alongside
megastar
Amitabh
Bachchan.
In
the
film,
she
plays
Naina
Sethi,
a
businesswoman,
who
is
found
locked
in
a
room
with
a
dead
body,
a
lot
of
money
and
her
hands
stained
with
blood.
Bachchan
plays
her
lawyer
Badal
Gupta.
She
has
credited
the
writing
and
the
tight
script
for
her
performance.
Taapsee
said
she
even
had
discussions
with
Ghosh
about
how
her
character
graph
should
move
--
from
being
a
stranger
to
the
murder
mystery
to
playing
a
victim
card
and
at
one
point
even
emerge
as
a
strong
person
--
only
to
find
herself
getting
trapped.
"Sujoy
and
I
worked
on
the
graph
like
how
my
body
language
and
expressions
will
change.
I
barely
have
dialogues
in
the
film.
I
am
sitting
across
the
table
and
Mr
Bachchan
is
doing
most
of
the
talking."
The
actor
believes
the
dialogues
helped
her
modulate
and
keep
the
audience
hooked.
"Mr
Bachchan
has
most
of
the
lines
and
has
nice
dialogues.
I
am
being
the
manipulator,
so
I
was
not
going
to
talk
more."
In
real
life,
Taapsee
said
she
is
more
expressive
than
her
part
in
the
film
and
it
was
a
challenge
to
hold
back
herself.
"I
could
have
been
dramatic,
giving
cunning
looks
or
showing
the
victim
look
but
Naina
is
strong
and
she
is
not
going
to
give
her
expressions
easily.
I
am
a
very
expressive
person
and
I
talk
in
dramatic
way,
which
I
had
to
control.
"I
felt
doing
too
much
might
make
it
a
cliched
character
as
you
expect
the
mastermind
to
give
a
certain
look.
I
did
not
want
to
do
it
that
way,
I
wanted
to
keep
it
real," she
said.
Badla,
produced
by
Shah
Rukh
Khan's
Red
Chillies
Entertainment
and
Azure
Entertainment,
has
cruised
past
the
Rs
65-crore
mark
since
its
release
on
March
8.
The
film,
an
official
adaptation
of
2017
Spanish
film
"The
Invisible
Guest",
was
offered
to
the
actor
when
she
was
shooting
for
David
Dhawan's
Judwaa
2.
The
key
change
between
"The
Invisible
Guest"
and
"Badla"
is
that
the
genders
of
the
murder
accused
and
the
lawyer
have
been
flipped.
In
the
original,
Spanish
actor
Mario
Casas
plays
the
murder
accused.