Mumbai: Taapsee Pannu has established herself with a string of unconventional and hard-hitting performances, but her 2023 outing Dunki with Shah Rukh Khan marked a rare foray into mainstream Bollywood.
Despite the film becoming the biggest commercial success of her career, Taapsee says it did not result in a wave of similar big-scale offers.
In a recent interaction with News18, the actor opened up about why talent alone may not be enough to land commercial films in Bollywood.
“I feel that all actors are replaceable. It’s not like ki yeh role iske ilaava koi aur kar hi nahi sakta. They may do it differently but I think everyone can pull off every role. But the female characters in these so-called mainstream and commercial films are ones that can be played by anyone. And the basis of landing these roles isn’t your talent It’s your market, saleability, contacts, visbility, presence and influence. All of these factors more than an actor’s talent come into play. And I know it for a fact that I’m lagging behind when it comes to these factors. The only basis on which I can get a film is my talent. The only reason I got to work on Dunki is because Raju sir had seen my work. He puts his foot down for me,” she said.
Taapsee credited director Rajkumar Hirani for giving her the opportunity to star in Dunki, calling her casting an unconventional choice.
She also acknowledged that such casting decisions are relatively rare in the industry, which she believes is one of the reasons she has not been offered more big-ticket mainstream projects.
She added, “Usually, the characters in a commercial film aren’t significant enough and so, it doesn’t matter which actress is playing the part. If an actress fits into their budget and has a certain market value, they immediately cast her. Mainstream films that cast an actress purely on the basis of talent are far and few. And directors like Raju sir, who are so sure of the actress they want, are even fewer.”
On the work front, Taapsee was last seen in Gandhari, in which she played a mother determined to find and rescue her kidnapped daughter.
The film follows her character’s intense journey as she navigates themes of revenge and redemption while stopping at nothing to bring her daughter back home.
Gandhari received mixed to negative responses from both critics and audiences.