Taapsee Pannu is on cloud nine. She has just returned from the Toronto Film Festival where her new film Manmarziyaan was received with warm appreciation. “This was my first international film festival. And it was overwhelming. I guess my director Anurag Kashyap is a regular at film festivals. But for me it was a novel experience,” says Taapsee happily.
Playing the mercurial self-obsessed Rumi was also a novel experienced for Taapsee. “She is so into herself. So convinced about everything in life that she doesn’t realize how she affects the lives of those around her.”
Taapsee wasn’t sure how this impulsive self-obsessed girl would be received by the audience. “But the response has been amazing. People have wondered about the physical attraction between my character and Vicky Kaushal’s. But you see, our cinema tends to overlook how important physical compatibility is in a relationship. She shares a great physical rapport with her boyfriend and she celebrates it at every given opportunity.”
This is a new kind of heroine for Hindi cinema. Taapsee says she is all for it. “For some time now I’ve been trying to figure what where I belong in our cinema. With films like Pink, Naam Shabana, Mulk and Manmarziyaan, I know the route that I need to take. And I’m happily taking it. In fact Mulk is still in theatres and has become a talking point when now Manmarziyaan has come along to claim people’s attentions. I guess I am just lucky to be where I am.”
Luck also seems to play a part in Taapsee being naturally skinny. “I am by nature sporty. I don’t have to go to the gym every day to look the way I do.”
