Slowly and steadily, she has been building a body of work that she can proudly show her children to prove she was a pathfinder and a ceiling breaker. Forget the male Ayushmann Khurrana, Taapsee Pannu is the female equivalent of Matthew McConaughey.Whenever she’s around you can be sure there’s something unusual happening. With Thappad she has raced ahead of all competition. Here’s why.
1. Fearless Fighter: She isn’t afraid to play flawed, frightened characters as long as these women display a fighting spirit. She’s that soldier at the battlefront who won’t go down without a fight. In Thappad she is meek, vulnerable, hurt and bewildered. But she finds her way out of the darkness into a tentative light. It’s a very quiet performance. Hopefully, the National awards committee will reach into the silences.
2. Unlike the other clout-empowered, contemporary actresses like Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and Kangana Ranaut, Taapsee does not have family allegiances to define her career. Deepika has the Ranveer factor hovering over her career. Alia can’t shrug off the Mahesh Bhatt-Karan Johar influence. And Kangana’s very assertive sister is omnipresent in her career. Taapsee is completely her own person. She does have a sister. But that’s something entirely restricted to her family.
3. Taapsee is completely independent in thought and action. She does the films she wants to without the fear of ramifications. Only a totally fearless actor can do Pink, Saandh Ki Aaankh, Game Over and Thappad, all in one breath.
4. She doesn’t flaunt her intelligence. Women with a mind of their own and a definite political ideology come across as aggressive on social media, like Swara Bhaskar. Taapsee keeps her thoughts on a deliberately light level. She isn’t confrontational, as one can see from the way she laughs away the trolls.
5. Finally, she is the only screen diva I know who isn’t temperamental. Never known to lose her cool, throw her weight around, or whip up temper tantrums during shooting, she is accommodating, adjustable and undemanding. After Thappad she is in an enviable position. But stardom sits lightly on her. Success becomes Taapsee.