Taapsee Pannu is clear that she’s not out to change the world. She is, though, armed with questions that few have the courage to acknowledge, let alone face head on with a momentum of a barrelling freighter train.
With her latest film Mulk (Country), a courtroom drama where the 30-year-old actress plays a defence lawyer to a Muslim family whose members have been accused of committing treason, Pannu is ready to push the envelope further, despite being labelled an anti-nationalist for daring to question the mob mentality that rides the wave of the existing race and religion bias in India. The actress has been subjected to some veiled, and some not so veiled, threats on her life as well over the past few weeks.
- Taapsee Pannu
Gulf News tabloid! spoke to Pannu in a freewheeling chat, where she hits back at this climate of intolerance spreading across the world, with her feisty spirit intact.
Would it be generalising if we say that Mulk presents a grim picture of the growing intolerance in society today?
That is exactly what it is. Mulk is a story about all of us. It is about the prejudice in all our minds. It is the conditioning that we have been subjected to over the years and it asks the question, where did this come from? The film is very topical and it is reminiscent of the times we live in.
What the film isn’t is a platform that promotes a particular religion or demotes it. What it is saying is that we have to be humans first and only then understand the meaning of being a nationalist or a patriot.
Do you think as a society, we are in danger of losing our humanity?
Yes we are, because we are judging things on the basis of illogical facts and the conditioning around us. We first ask a person what their religion or caste is and then decide how we want to treat them. This is the imbalance we are addressing in our film.
Is social media a culprit here?
I think social media has really affected our social fibre. It is very overrated and we have given it way too much importance than it truly deserves. All of us are to blame for it.
Director Anubhav Sinha has faced death threats over the past few weeks, with trolls and left-wing extremists calling him anti-Hindu for daring to tackle a subject such as the race and religion bias that exists in India. You have faced your share as well.
Oh, I have faced a lot of trolls. But the only difference is that he [Sinha] replies to them; I reply, but not as often.
How does one deal with such negativity?
When you sign on to become a public figure who has the power to affect masses, then you should also know the cons that come with the job.
The trolls out there are waiting for me to respond in their language. I don’t want to stoop down to that level because that’s not my level. I have a certain class and I am going to maintain that dignity by answering them through my work and being more mature about things.
And you know what’s so funny? Most of these trolls don’t even follow me. At least follow me and increase my followers if you want to talk about me the entire day.
What bothers me more is the broader society in general who have the mind and understanding to make a learnt opinion but choose to stay silent.
And Mulk, in its own way, is addressing this bigger issue?
It is. We wanted a discussion; we wanted the elephant in the room to be addressed. We wanted people to stop shoving things under the carpet. We are not providing any solutions in our film. We just want you to see things from a neutral perspective and then decide what is right and wrong.
Tell us how you landed the role?
Anubhav Sinha gave me the script and asked me to sit in his office and read it there. And two hours later, I had signed on. I always make my own decisions without any consultations. My yes or no comes immediately after I read a script. I’ve been clear right from the beginning about this because I don’t have the luxury to go back to anyone and ask for suggestions.
What about family or friends?
My family and friends have no connection with films and filmmakers so they have no idea. They are probably more raw an audience than you and me. Most of my family only know that I am doing a film when it comes out in the papers. My sister is perhaps the only one who gets to know about a script before I am shooting or sees a film before it releases because I take her with me to know her opinion.
Do you see yourself in Aarti Mohammad, the character you play in Mulk?
I am very much like her. I have always spoken up for what I feel is right. And I have been loved and hated for having a mind of my own.
I am not a politically active person. I am not a very religious person. I belong to a Sikh family and I know just enough basics to go and pray in a gurdwara [Sikh temple]. What I also know is those basic lessons never exposed me to any extremist teachings of a religion. As I grew up, I realised that either what I was taught was wrong or what was happening in society was wrong because they were not matching.
This is where someone an inquisitive person such as myself, who reads such a script, takes on the chance to raise pertinent questions. In fact, I have been so inquisitive by nature that my father used to tell me growing up that I should be a lawyer.
And here we thought it was Amitabh Bachchan’s legal skills in Pink that inspired your courtroom scenes in Mulk.
More than an inspiration, Amit ji sets a benchmark. If I am able to reach the kind of impact he created with Pink, then I will call myself hugely successful.
How was the experience of working with another film legend, Rishi Kapoor, this time around?
He is another acting powerhouse that Bollywood is proud of. Yes, he can be intimidating at times, but only if you let him.
Your films have varied between author-backed roles such as playing an Indian spy in Naam Shabana to popcorn cinema with Judwa 2. What does the actor you in enjoy more?
Anything that I as an audience will spend my hard earned money on. I never wanted to become an actress. I am doing this because I am enjoying it. So if there’s a film that I won’t enjoy, then I won’t do it. My filmography has to be such that my kids would be proud of one day.
In the past, you have been candid about losing out on plum roles early on in your career for not being a star kid or having the right film connections. How did you rise above such setbacks?
This industry is such that people will take advantage of your desperation. I wasn’t desperate and that is probably one of the reasons why it worked for me. Plus, acting was never my Plan A. It wasn’t even Plan Z. For me, it was always working in a typical blue collar job. Films just happened.
Have you ever returned to those directors who passed you over after hitting the big leagues?
Yes, I have. Truth be told, unless someone has been very nasty to me, which are very few cases, I don’t hold it against them. Honestly, most of the rejections were genuine cases where they were pressurised into signing on a bigger name. I have no hang ups about being rejected.
Yes, I am a very vindictive person, but not in this way. I am vindictive when it comes to proving my worth. I take my revenge through my work.
Don’t miss it!
Mulk is out in the UAE on August 2.
