Taapsee Pannu was advised against taking up powerful female roles: ‘Then what should I do? Flimsy roles?’

Actor Taapsee Pannu has said in an interview that she was advised by people to not take up any more strong female roles in films. Taapsee has played a scientist, a lawyer, a hockey player, a sharpshooter and many other powerful roles in her career so far.

Talking to Zoom, Taapsee said she was asked to ‘let men take the centre stage.’ “I have been advised by people in this industry that you should let men take the centre stage now. You are only doing women-centric films. When I tell them that I also did Mission Mangal, they say but that’s again a strong female character. Toh kya karu? Kuch bhi flimsy sa role kar lun? (Then what should I do? Should I do flimsy roles?),” she said.

When asked about taking up what many would call a ‘flimsy role’ in Judwaa 2 opposite Varun Dhawan, she said it was only to prove that she could do something like this as well. “Yes, that I did only to prove that I can also do this. Don’t put me in a box. But today, I am in a position that when I do a commercial film, the character will have something for sure. That I can command today,” she said.

Taapsee whose last three films - Badla, Mission Mangal and Saand Ki Aankh - fared well at the box office, is now looking forward to multiple new films. She has Thappad with Anubhav Sinha, a Mithali Raj biopic titled Shabaash Mithu, Rashmi Rocket and Haseen Dillruba with Vikrant Massey.

Taapsee will start shooting for Shabaash Mithu in the middle of 2020. “It is going to be difficult, I know. I watch cricket a lot but I never played the game. So, it is going to be challenging for me. Mithali (Raj) has already told me that ‘I’d like to see how you play the cover drive!’ So, I dream of cover drives now,” she laughed.

“I will start preparing for the film at the start of next year because we are going to start shooting of the film from middle of 2020,” added the actor.

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