Taapsee Pannu: If I had to play safe, I wouldn’t be in this career

Taapsee Pannu has always managed to grab the eye balls with her scintillating performances in Bollywood. The actress, who is currently gearing up for Manmarziyan and Soorma, spoke about how Bollywood became her career without planning for it. In an interview with a leading Indian daily, "I didn’t even plan Bollywood! I did my first film just to experience something new, and not start a career. I was filming Jhummandi Naadam (2010, Telugu), my debut film, and Aadukalam (2011, Tamil) at the same time. After both released, and when I saw the audience reaction to the first one, which I felt I was really bad in, I thought that if it can turn out like this even without really aiming or planning for it, what if I work on it like a proper career? That’s where it started."

Talking about her commercial hits like Judwaa 2, she said, "Working in a hugely, commercially successful film benefits everyone. I got a 10-minute role in Baby, but it landed me a title role [in Naam Shabana, 2017], which a lot of actresses don’t get even after working for decades. What matters is how good you are in the screen space you get."

Adding further, she said, "Agar humein safe play karna hota, toh yahaan pe nahi aate (If I had to play safe, I wouldn’t be in this career. We have to jump into the competition, and prove ourselves every moment."

Talking about her film journey, she had said to a leading Indian entertainment portal, "I don't have any complaints. My audiences have been kind to me. I always say that jiska koi nai hota uski janta hoti hai. I have no godfather in the industry. They have been considerate towards me knowing the fact I don't belong to the film background. They know me for my work and not something else and that's what I am happy about. Nothing to regret right now and I have been slow and steady."

She added, "To break the initial glass was difficult. You constantly go out and tell your worth, which is difficult and awkward. The struggle hasn't ended yet and I still have to face that. It's difficult and it's like every Friday is an examination for me. There is a risk of failure that I will have to start from scratch. It's not a pretty stable sort of a surface for people like me, considering the background I come from."