Bollywood actress Taapsee Pannu adopted a pragmatic stand during an interview after the highly-publicised Income Tax raids at her residence on March 3.
“I have nothing to fear ... If I have done something wrong, I will serve the punishment,” Pannu told NDTV.
When asked if she was being targeted for her outspoken nature and her anti-establishment stand, the actress said there was no way to find out if her political leanings had prompted those raids. The star was most recently in the news for supporting the farmers’ protests in India.
Pannu, whose credits include ‘Pink’ and ‘Thappad’, claims she answered all questions asked and extended her full cooperation to the IT department.
“If there is anything wrong it will come out, I can’t hide anything. If I have done something wrong, I will serve the punishment,” said Pannu.
The premises of her mentor and colleague, director Anurag Kashyap, were also raided in the same crackdown. Other entities that were raided included that of the partners of Kashyap’s now-defunct production house, and celebrity management firm KWAN and Exceed.
As soon as the news of the raids broke, a large section of their fans on social media felt that it was their critical remarks against the ruling government in India that triggered the raids.
“There is no way to confirm why I was raided. When IT raids happed, there is no option but to follow procedure,” said Pannu.
It was also speculated that Rs50 million (Dh2.5 million) was recovered during the IT raid, but the actress shot down those unverified reports.
“I was wondering who is giving me Rs5 crore. There were stories of me having a bungalow in Paris. I answered all the questions asked by the Income Tax officers. My family and I cooperated with the IT department,” she added.
While Pannu got immense support from her fans, actors including Kangana Ranaut were quick to bring down Pannu and cheer the IT raids. Earlier, Ranaut had called her ‘sasti’, meaning cheap. After the raids, Pannu cheekily tweeted: ‘I am not sasti anymore’. Ranaut didn’t let the jibe slide and clapped back with: “You will always be sasti [cheap].”
The two are known to have a strained relationship with Ranaut often attacking her and her talent publicly on Twitter. Pannu often uses sarcasm and wit to combat her diatribe.
