No second chance in Bollywood: Taapsee Pannu

After her debut film in Tamil, Aadukalam, receiving as many as six National Awards, actor Taapsee Pannu has a new responsibility to carry.

Unmindful of the stress that surrounds her, Taapsee is a mood for celebration as her second Tamil film Vandhan Vendran is hitting the screens this week.

Is she nervous, we probe? “Of course not! It is indeed pressurising as Aadukalam received a wide recognition and my character Irene is still in people’s minds. To break that image and make the audience accept Anjana (her role in Vandhan...) is a tough task. But nevertheless, I am confident about the outcome,” begins an excited Taapsee.

Directed by R Kannan, Vandhan Vendran has Jiiva, Nanda and Taapsee in lead roles. Talking about her role, she says, “I essay the role of Anjana, an architect who has a broad vision. But in the second half of the film, a situation affects her and she becomes more aggressive and adamant. If am lauded for my performance, the credit must entirely go to Kannan. He signed me for the film even before Aadukalam’s stills were out. Anjana’s character will not be complete without him.”

Taapsee has Mogudu and another project with Ravi Teja in Telugu. But what really excites the actor currently is her Bollywood project. “Bollywood was not sudden as I’ve always been receiving offers. But nothing was as convincing as Chashme Baddoor. It is indeed surprising to have signed my debut Bollywood project without any screen test,” she informs.

She even got an offer to work with Amitabh Bachchan, but Taapsee refused due to date issues. So why did she take this long to sign a Bollywood project? “I want to be more careful when am doing a film in my native language. In Bollywood, I can’t think of a second chance. Along with the fate of your debut film, they label you as a hit or flop as well. The first impression matters,” explains Taapsee.

She has signed a two-film deal with Viacom Entertainment, of which Chashme Baddoor directed by David Dhawan will be rolling out from November. Completing eight movies in a span of one-and-a-half years is no joke. But the actor says that it is the passion that has pushed her so far.

“All the films that I’ve worked on gave me a lot of scope to perform. There were days when I felt exhausted and worn out, but I guess it’s the love of movies that made me push all my boundaries. I hope to be part of more such films in the future,” she signs off.