THE MATURING OF TAAPSEE PANNU

The actress is now a bankable powerhouse, delivering nuanced performances that resonate with the modern Indian woman

- MAITHILI RAO

It was with the silent but strong protest against a ‘mere’ slap that Taapsee Pannu secured her position as the thinking woman’s hero. Or shero, as some would like to characterise a strong female protagonist. She now completes the dyad of Vidya Balan and Kangana Ranaut to make it a triumvirate of actors who make significant statements through landmark films. It has been a steady climb up for Pannu from Pink to Thappad, with Badla and Manmarziyaan, marking the ladder of success. Mulk and Sand Ki Aaankh are also noteworthy where she shares honours with Bhumi Pednekar in the latter. Pannu is now a bankable powerhouse, delivering nuanced performances that resonate with the modern Indian woman. She has the maturity of an actor who is choosing her films rightly. And to a right audience — even if a niche one — ready to engage with these films and start a conversation around it.

For much of her early career that began in 2010 with Telugu and Tamil films, Pannu passed under our critical ladder. Her beginning in Hindi cinema is most unpropitious. She was the girl three guys wanted to hook up with. This remake is an atrocity and unpardonable insult to an all-time favourite, a perennial charmer Chashme Baddoor, Sai Paranjpye’s delicious romantic comedy, that also spoofs the standard ingredients of that genre. I wanted to obliterate the remake from my memory, so appalled I was by its crudity. Not being a fan of Akshay Kumar action thrillers, I gave Baby the go-by, only to be intrigued by the prequel made as a sequel to the predictable hit. Pannu must have created a big enough impression as Shabana Khan in the inexplicably titled