Taapsee Pannu has never shied away from calling out patterns she sees in the film industry. In her latest chat, she took aim at something many viewers have quietly noticed too: Bollywood films starting to feel repetitive because the same faces keep showing up in the same kind of stories. The actor, known for choosing offbeat and gritty roles, spoke candidly about how typecasting isn’t just an actor’s problem but a casting problem that filmmakers need to fix.
Same actors, same genres, says Taapsee Pannu
Speaking to Hindustan Times, Taapsee Pannu pointed out that Bollywood keeps recycling a small pool of actors for particular genres, which she believes is the real reason so many films end up looking alike. According to her, when studios rely on the same handful of stars for romance or glamour and another fixed set for thrillers, originality naturally takes a hit.She explained, “All the rom-coms, glam stuff looks the same because there are only those four or five actors, actresses who are doing that. All our thrillers look and feel the same because there are only those four or five actors who are doing that.”She added that true novelty on screen requires filmmakers to be bolder with their choices. She said, “If you really want your film to look different, something new, something different, then you need to cast people who can bring that difference on screen.”
Costume changes don’t erase the old image, says Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu also touched on how simply changing an actor’s look or outfit doesn’t automatically make a role feel fresh, since audiences already carry a fixed impression of that performer. She said, “If I’ve seen someone in a glamorous role, now you make that person wear a sari or a bikini or whatever, I have seen the glamour of that actor. It’s only different, right?” she said, adding, “So that’s not the fault of that poor actor, also.“
Taapsee Pannu on being typecast herself
Turning to her own journey, Taapsee Pannu acknowledged that she too has become synonymous with intense, hard-hitting characters, largely because those are the scripts she keeps receiving. She reasoned that picking the strongest script from a limited set only reinforces the label further. She said, “If you only offer me 10 intense films, I will choose the best out of them and present that, but it will still be a strong woman, intense film because that’s the only genre that people have started imagining me.“
More about Taapsee Pannu’s upcoming film ‘Gandhari’
Taapsee’s remarks come alongside the release of her latest film, ‘Gandhari’, directed by Devashish Makhija and written and produced by Kanika Dhillon. She plays Bani, a mother whose life turns upside down after her daughter is kidnapped, pushing her into the eerie town of Joypurra and its unsettling Behrupiya lore. Ishwak Singh, Jatin Sarna, Swastika Mukherjee, Mita Vashisht, and Chhaya Kadam also star. The film began streaming on Netflix on September 3.
