There is an undeniable leonine grace about her. In her killer calves, boldly etched shoulder blades, rather confident acting prowess and equally fascinating mane—actor Taapsee Pannu simply refuses to be contained in a simpering arm candy template.
“I have clarity of goals,” she smiles, with a careless toss of her voluminous, glossy curls. “I know what I want—this is sometimes intimidating and indigestible for others.” As a strong, successful woman who makes her own rules and leads life on her own terms, Taapsee has carved her way into the top crop of Bollywood fiefdom. And with unusual picks, might we add. Pink, Naam Shabana, Thappad, Badla… it has been a fearless choice of scripts over the past decade, with Taapsee circling pivotal roles.
Power Edition
As a woman, she is a strong mix of sheer strength and charisma. And as an actor, she is undeniably potent in her onscreen renditions. Taapsee, a computer engineer by education, is an actor by default. “I loved studying, and post engineering, I wanted to pursue an MBA degree,” she shares. But destiny soon nudged her into modelling, which progressed to Telugu and Tamil films. And soon, she was showcasing her skills on Bollywood silverscreens.
Taapsee’s popularity has overflown to social media as well. She has over 18 million followers on Instagram. “An organically earned following, not bought. I am an extrovert and share genuine posts. No picture I put up is airbrushed,” she points out. “People connect with me, as my content is not fed into a forcefully created image,” she adds. And what about handling trolls, we wonder aloud. “My sense of humour and sarcasm deals with attention-hungry people. They strengthen my image, rather than pulling me down,” she replies. Whether she is thundering around on a motorcycle, emerging from the sea in a bikini in the Maldives, working up a mean sweat in the gym or loafing around with her sister, Shagun, Taapsee is cool enough to share vignettes from her private moments on social media. “Puchi (Shagun) often calls me Pyari, in public, as an incognito reference, rather than calling out my name,” Taapsee laughs.
Shilpi Madan for Elle India