Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu talks sexism, misogyny as she turns producer with ‘Blurr’

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Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu talks sexism, misogyny as she turns producer with ‘Blurr’ The actress opened up about the challenges of backing a female-fronted film, how big stars shy away from a “girl’s film”, her career’s first production ‘Blurr’ and more  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km

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00:00I've had direct interactions with men who have just refused my films saying that, you know,

00:05this is a girl's film.

00:06Anurag fought with me and kept asking me this till the end because he was one of the first ones to see the film

00:12even before the film was fully, like, done in terms of post-production.

00:16He saw the locked edit with reference BGM and all of that.

00:19And till date, whenever I ask him, see the final product, he's like, why are you not releasing it in theatre?

00:25I say, stop fighting with me on a battle I can't fight anymore.

00:31I think this was like such a tailor-made movie for you.

00:34It's dark, dysfunctional and it's bleak.

00:37There you go.

00:38I can't think I lose my word.

00:40Only, only in my filmography, nothing in my real life because everybody feels like,

00:46my friends and family still cannot fathom how I can do this kind of stuff knowing the person I am.

00:53But yeah, whatever works.

00:55Whatever works. It sells.

00:57And I have to tell you, when I saw it, I was like, for a minute, it was a disturbing movie.

01:02It was not an easy watch, I'll be very honest with you.

01:05I enjoyed it and I love these kind of, you know, atmospheric thrillers as well.

01:09You know, when you don't know what's happening.

01:10It really worked for me.

01:12But in your case, was it difficult to film this?

01:14I'm just thinking, you have to be in that space where everything is a bit tough.

01:18Like, there's no...

01:19You know, every few sequences later, there was a new challenge thrown to, like, to perform.

01:27Be it the difficult terrain that we were shooting the film in,

01:31or the fact that I had to use those lenses to become blind and just live by it

01:36because there is no other way for me to play a blind person convincingly.

01:41I had to become blind for that.

01:43Or the sequences where I was wearing those pattis, bandages on my face,

01:48where, you know, the actor's biggest asset, which is the eyes, are hidden.

01:52So, you cannot perform using that.

01:54Or that, you know, that sequence where you saw...

01:57When I don't see, you don't see anyone.

01:59So, the fact that this is...

02:02Half of my face and my voice is the only thing that's supposed to hold you

02:07for that... till the time I start seeing again.

02:10That.

02:11And then moving on to the sequences where I am not blind, but I have to pretend to be blind.

02:17When you can actually see.

02:18So, people don't understand, it's difficult to behave like a blind person

02:23when you can fully see everything.

02:25And so, there were different challenges thrown at me in different ways

02:29and I'm not even counting the physical aspect of it

02:32when I was actually banging into things and falling down.

02:35That is probably the relatively easier part than what I had to perform and do mentally.

02:40So, yeah, this one looked fancy on paper when I said yes,

02:45but yeah, it did take a toll on me so much so that I really...

02:49I want to stay away from these thrillers for a bit for now.

02:52And did you watch the original as well?

02:55The Wikipedia is not a reliable source.

02:56I, 2018, when Badla was offered to me,

03:00I back-to-back saw all Oriol Polo's work.

03:03Everything.

03:05Because I just was so much in awe of that man's work,

03:08I went and saw everything back-to-back.

03:10And after that, I didn't.

03:12So, when this film came to me, I said an instant yes,

03:16but I did not go back to the original anymore

03:20because I wanted Ajay sir to work on the adaptation

03:22and then bring it to me for me to see how much do I give into it now.

03:27Because it was so complex that it's not like you remember

03:29all the layers by the back of your head immediately, right?

03:32So, I waited for the Hindi version to come out to me

03:36and then I loved how he enhanced the human layers in it,

03:40which was not really there all through there.

03:43I mean, you take the thriller back home,

03:46but you really don't take the...

03:48See, I feel after the end, when you take a film back home,

03:52because it has affected you at a human level.

03:54And that only happens if you have a certain human element

03:57that has impacted you.

04:00Actually, I was talking to Anvita for Kalai at Goa

04:03and she was telling me it's not easy for a filmmaker to go dark,

04:07but she chose to go dark for her film.

04:09In your case too, did you face the same debate?

04:13Whether how dark should we go?

04:14How much can our audiences take?

04:17Is it too bleak? Is it too grim?

04:19Should we give them some hope?

04:20Yes, definitely I feel like we should have a hope by the end of it.

04:25I am not a huge fan of films that leave you sad and depressed by the end of it.

04:31There should be something positive to hold on to,

04:33be it in terms of how your protagonist ends the film

04:37or in what state your protagonist is leaving that story.

04:41I feel there should be certain hope

04:42because this is me as an audience talking.

04:45I do the films that I watch.

04:47Like I can possibly watch.

04:48I don't do the films I am not an audience to.

04:51So I am not an audience to that kind of dark cinema

04:54where you just don't have any hope by the end of it.

04:56You don't have anything good to take away from it.

04:59So I would definitely stay away from doing those films,

05:04making those films where there is literally zero hope

05:07and it leaves you sad and depressed by the end of it

05:09rather than there is something good to still look forward to.

05:13And although this is a very female-fronted film,

05:15I thought men had some agency in it.

05:17Most of the female films I see,

05:19men are like, just there.

05:22Get the body.

05:23I mean, where is the balance?

05:25But here somewhere along the way,

05:26I think every, even the male or the female,

05:28it was not gender.

05:29Yeah, I think the men in this film,

05:31which is like the majority of the cast actually,

05:34are the literal pillars of this film.

05:37I am the driver of the film

05:39but the pillars who are holding the whole facade of the story

05:43are these men,

05:44be it Gulshan or Abhilash

05:46or Zakir Sir

05:48or the other men in the film.

05:52I think they are pretty much holding the fort for me.

05:55Otherwise, it will come crashing down.

05:58And there are such few actors in the film

06:00and we needed 100% from everyone

06:02because there are very few people to

06:05engage the audience on screen.

06:07It's two of me

06:08and then there's a very limited number of people.

06:10So, I really am thankful that these men

06:13were least insecure to come out

06:16because that's what most of us keep dealing with

06:18most of the times

06:19as female protagonists in films

06:21where we don't get many male actors

06:23to step into our films

06:25because they're just too insecure

06:27about having lesser screen space.

06:29But these men who've been a part of it

06:31are truly the gentlemen we have around.

06:36That is very important.

06:37That is the reason why they're even there

06:40because I've had direct interactions with men

06:44who have just refused my films

06:46saying that, you know,

06:47this is a girl's film.

06:48I've had this kind of a point-blank reaction

06:51from guys.

06:53That's so unfortunate though.

06:55I mean, we want to move towards

06:57a gender agnostic workplace

06:59but still it all boils down to...

07:01Yeah, it does.

07:02It is a very slow change.

07:04There is a change but it's very, very slow.

07:07People who are more interested in becoming actors

07:09and not just big stars

07:11are the ones who are taking

07:13the bigger steps towards this direction.

07:15And Tapsee, what kind of a producer are you?

07:17Are you the kind who's involved

07:19in the editing process,

07:20the casting process, hands-on?

07:22And that's a good thing.

07:23It's not about, you know,

07:24so nobody should say I'm just a...

07:26You know what I mean?

07:27Today the definition of a producer

07:28is very different from when it was like a day job.

07:30Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

07:31I'm not the one just spending money.

07:34I'm not that producer at all.

07:36The money man and the hands-on

07:39ground production handling person

07:41is Pranjal, my partner.

07:43I am the producer who is involved

07:45before the film goes on flow

07:47and after the film is done shooting with.

07:49I am totally invisible

07:51when the film is shooting.

07:52Like the other project of mine

07:54that happened, Dhak Dhak,

07:55where I have four women in the film.

07:57I have not been on set

07:59for even a single day

08:01because they are the stars of the film.

08:03They deserve all the attention

08:05and presence on set.

08:06I don't want to dilute that

08:07by being there at all.

08:08But yes,

08:09I will be supremely actively

08:11hands-on involved in scripting

08:13before the film goes on flow

08:15deciding who will be in the film

08:18and who all will be there

08:20in terms of crew as well.

08:22And after the film is done

08:24sitting there on the...

08:26not literally sitting on the edit

08:28but watching the edit and saying

08:29no, this needs to go

08:30or I feel this is not holding enough attention

08:32or deciding the packaging

08:34how BGM, the sound design

08:36all that post-work, I am there.

08:38So you will not just see me

08:39physically on ground

08:41because Pranjal is too good at doing that

08:43and I don't want to do that.

08:45Before and after is when

08:47you will see me,

08:48that kind of a producer.

08:49And the sensibility wise

08:51in terms of the films

08:52that I am going to be producing

08:53it will be totally totally in line

08:55with the films I do as an actor.

08:57You know one thing I thought

08:58this movie also dealt with

08:59it's an intimate film.

09:00I mean I watched it on my laptop

09:03and I felt connected.

09:05You know it only

09:07all the screenings that I have had

09:09for last one week

09:11the only negative that people told me was

09:13why are you not releasing the film in theatre?

09:15But I understand why they are saying

09:17this is because of the sound design

09:19because technically this film is so sound

09:21because when you hear it in that theatre

09:23you get the thrills and chills

09:25even more.

09:27So that's the reason why people feel

09:29Anurag fought with me

09:31and kept asking me this till the end

09:33because he was one of the first ones

09:34to see the film even before

09:35the film was fully done

09:37in terms of post production.

09:39He saw the locked edit

09:41with reference BGM and all of that

09:43and till date whenever I ask him

09:45to see the final product

09:46he is like why are you not

09:47releasing it in theatre?

09:48I say stop fighting with me

09:49on a battle I can't fight anymore.

09:51So people who

09:53have this complaint from me

09:55consistently with regards to Blur

09:57that you should have released this film

09:58in theatre

09:59but all I am saying is

10:00right now I am too greedy

10:01for audience to watch my film

10:03wherever it may come

10:05I just want them to watch it

10:07so whatever it takes

10:08for them to watch it.

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