Taapsee Pannu is no stranger to hard-hitting, emotionally weighty roles, but the actor recently shared her interest in trying something more light-hearted, romantic comedies especially. She mentioned she’s been hoping to finally get offers that move away from the tough, intense characters she’s so often played.

Taapsee Pannu asks for something light

Ahead of ‘Gandhari’, Taapsee opened up about her body of work and revealed her wish to headline a lighthearted romantic comedy. In an interview with Hindustan Times, she said, “Please tell people, have mercy, give me something light. I would love to see you in a rom-com. I would love to do it too.”She also pointed out that the film industry tends to typecast actors once they succeed in a particular genre. “There’s a certain kind of creative imagination that our industry is not that good with,” she remarked, adding, “When we see a certain actor good with a certain kind of roles and genres and worlds, we just want to play safe and keep casting that actor in the same world.”

Taapsee Pannu on turning down similar roles

Pannu shared that she has turned down numerous investigative thrillers and action projects since ‘Baby’ and ‘Naam Shabana’, keen to avoid getting boxed into similar roles. “I can’t begin to tell you the number of films I have turned down, investigation films that I have turned down, like a lot. Action films that I turned down after ‘Naam Shabana’ and ‘Baby’ until now,” she said. She added, “Because it just felt like there’s a creative bankruptcy where you can’t imagine a person, if you’re calling someone a good actor, not me, if anybody, a good actor, then please put the faith in that person to be able to perform range.”She further noted that her body of work doesn’t fully capture her range as an actor. “It’s not my fault if I am only offered 10 intense films,” she said. “I will choose the best out of it 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 [in].”

Taapsee Pannu cites ‘Manmarziyaan’

Taapsee pointed to ‘Manmarziyaan’ as proof that she can pull off a romantic narrative. “If today someone goes out to pitch a love story with me, people can’t imagine it. They don’t want to greenlight it because they feel like, ‘Taapsee in a love story? It’s very difficult to imagine.’ I don’t understand,” she said.She also touched on her experience venturing into comedy with Khel Khel Mein. “I literally did Khel Khel Mein for me to have fun,” she shared. “I knew there were seven of us on the table. I just get to have some fun is why I did that film.” She gave credit to director Mudassar Aziz for backing her in a comic role and expressed hope that more filmmakers would give her the chance to explore varied genres.

Taapsee Pannu’s ‘Gandhari’

‘Gandhari’, on the other hand, was helmed by Devashish Makhija, with Kanika Dhillon serving as writer and producer. The film cast Taapsee as Bani, a mother whose daughter is kidnapped, alongside Ishwak Singh, Jatin Sarna, Swastika Mukherjee, Mita Vashisht and Chhaya Kadam in supporting roles. It dropped on Netflix on September 3.