Talktime | Tapasee Pannu
The Delhi girl who never wanted to be a part of the film industry says, she is taken aback by the response that she has received for her performance in Baby. Pannu tells Deebashree Mohanty in a chat that it is her luck which has got her this far
Baby has been receiving a lot of positive response. How does that make you feelIJ
I am very surprised with this audience reaction. I had always expected Baby will do well at the Box Office because it was a big film with a huge starcast. But I had no idea that people will notice and like me in my role. My stint in the film has been appreciated by one and all and that makes me super happy.
How did you bag this all-important roleIJ
I was the second one to be finalised for the movie after Akshay Kumar. The director Neeraj Pandey called me to his office wanting to know if I would like to do an off-beat film like this one and I grabbed the role with both hands. Such opportunities do not come your way every day.
Were you apprehensive when you started shooting for the filmIJ
When I started shooting for the film, I was not so nervous because we were only the three of us. But as we kept going, there were new additions to the film’s cast. They were all veterans. That is when I started to feel a little unsure. I was nervous about performing alongside them. I wanted to give it my all because I did not want them to say bad things about my acting skills.
You say movies happened to you by accident. Please elaborateIJ
I never wanted to be an actor or have anything to do with the film industry. I am a software engineer and I was all set to pursue my MBA and get into the advertising or marketing field. But destiny had something else in mind. The moment I did some modeling, offers started pouring in and they were all so good that I couldn't resist them. I actively started shooting for films in 2010 and there has been no looking back.
Are you well settled and happy in the industry nowIJ
Everything is a big bonus for me because I never meant to be here. I was only lucky to be in the right place and at the right time.
Are you the experimenting sortsIJ
I am in this profession because I wanted to live different lives through the characters I would get to portray. It doesn’t make sense to limit myself to a particular type or a genre. I don’t want to miss out on anything good and I would much rather experiment than to be type cast.
How different is the South industry from BollywoodIJ
For an actor, there is a heaven and hell of a difference between the two. I cater to a hindi speaking audience and I know how I can connect with them. But that is not there in South movies. They would much rather prefer a tamil or telegu speaking actor for their plumb roles. We get to do only the NRI-based roles. It is much more tough but it is a good learning experience too.
Tell us more about Runningshadi.com
We have just wrapped up the final production for the film and are expecting it to release this summer. It is a typical Shoojit Sircar romcom where the boy and girl create a website for couples in Amritsar to elope and get married.