‘The similarity lies in their demeanour’: Taapsee Pannu on her equation with Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan

Taapsee Pannu, who collaborated with Amitabh Bachchan in Pink (2016), will be seen sharing screen space with the Hindi cinema icon for the second time in Badla. Between these two movies, she also worked with his son, Abhishek Bachchan, in Manmarziyaan (2018).

When asked about the common aspect of working with Bachchan Senior and Junior, the actress said, “I can have the same conversation with the father that I can have with the son. It’s not that just because I am closer to Abhishek in age, I talk to him in a different manner. They are both different actors, but the similarity lies in their demeanour, the way they sit and, sometimes, their voice.”

The Judwaa 2 actress treats the Big B as a co-star. She says, “I’ve very confidently switched off the button in my head that he is ‘The’ Amitabh Bachchan. Even Abhishek was amused by it. In fact, during the promotions of Manmarziyaan, he kept telling everyone that the way he saw me behaving with Sir, was not even the way he behaves with his dad at home. You respect the person, but you don’t have to put him on a pedestal and make him inaccessible. You have to make that person a part of your conversation and let him feel disconnected. That’s why I gel with Sir as I do with Abhishek.”

Another interesting part of her interaction with the legendary actor is the way he gave her ‘back-handed compliments’ while they shot for the Sujoy Ghosh-directed suspense thriller. Reasoning that perhaps the senior superstar doesn’t want people to keep praising him, she recalls him lauding her performance, “He said, ‘Don’t give yourself this whole thing that you’ve just come in and are new’. I said, ‘Sir, I have not got any flowers or letters.’ This was before Manmarziyaan released. And he said, ‘The day you perform to actually deserve them, you will get them.’ Then I told him, ‘I think, you don’t watch enough of my films.’ I keep telling him that I’ll make sure he watches my movies because I need more flowers and letters.”

She did get a bouquet and a letter from the Big B for Manmarziyan. Is she expecting the same for Badla, too? She shrugs, “I don’t think I’ll get any for my performances in the movies that he, too, is a part of. Assuming that I didn’t get any for Pink, I assume I won’t get (the flowers and letter) for Badla either. Chalo, koi nahin. I’ll have to show him my other films (laughs).”