Taapsee Pannu Biography – an Indian Actress and Bollywood’s Haseen Dillruba

Tapasee Pannu (born 1 August 1987), known as Taapsee Pannu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films. She has received several awards, including two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award.

After a brief modeling career, Pannu made her acting debut with the 2010 Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam and went on to act in the 2011 Tamil film Aadukalam. She made her Hindi film debut with David Dhawan‘s comedy Chashme Baddoor (2013). After playing the leading lady in several Telugu and Tamil films, Pannu gained notice for her performances in the Hindi spy film Baby (2015) and the courtroom drama Pink (2016), both of which were critical and commercial successes.

Pannu gained prominence in Hindi cinema with the war drama The Ghazi Attack (2017), the social drama Mulk (2018), the romantic drama Manmarziyaan (2018), the thriller Badla (2019), and the space drama Mission Mangal (2019). For portraying the septuagenarian sharpshooter Prakashi Tomar in the biopic Saand Ki Aankh (2019), she won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, and for playing a homemaker going through a divorce in Anubhav Sinha‘s drama Thappad (2020), she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She has since starred in the streaming films Haseen Dillruba (2021), Rashmi Rocket (2021), and Looop Lapeta (2022).

Apart from acting, Pannu runs an event management company called The Wedding Factory. She is also the owner of the badminton franchise Pune 7 Aces, which plays in the Premier Badminton League.

Early life and work (Taapsee Pannu Biography)

Taapsee Pannu was born on 1 August 1987 in New Delhi to Dilmohan Singh Pannu and Nirmaljeet. She is a Jat Sikh. Her father is a retired real estate agent while her mother is a homemaker. She also has a younger sister, Shagun. She did her schooling at the Mata Jai Kaur Public School in Ashok Vihar and studied Computer Science Engineering at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology.

After graduating, Pannu worked as a software engineer. She became a full-time model after she auditioned and was selected for Channel V‘s 2008 talent show Get Gorgeous, which eventually led her to acting. Pannu has appeared in numerous print and television commercials and won several titles during her modeling days, including “Pantaloons Femina Miss Fresh Face” and “Safi Femina Miss Beautiful Skin” at the 2008 Femina Miss India contest.

As a model, she endorsed brands such as Reliance Trends, Red FM 93.5, UniStyle Image, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Pantaloon, PVR Cinemas, Standard Chartered Bank, Dabur, Airtel, Tata Docomo, World Gold Council, Havells and Vardhman. After a few years, she lost interest in modeling as she thought that she could never gain proper recognition through modeling, but only through films, and finally decided to act.

Career

2010–2015: Early Work and Recognition

Pannu made her cinematic debut in 2010 with K. Raghavendra Rao’s romantic musical Jhummandi Naadam. She played the role of the daughter of a USA–based millionaire who comes to India to research traditional Telugu music. Pannu got three more offers in Telugu before the film’s release. Her next film Aadukalam (2011), marked her debut in Tamil cinema. She played the role of an Anglo-Indian girl falling in love with a rural man played by Dhanush. The film, set in the backdrop of Madurai, revolves around cockfights. It was critically acclaimed and proceeded to win six National Film Awards at the 58th National Film Awards. Speaking about her role, a reviewer from Sify said: “Debutant Taapsee is a promising find and she suits the character of an Anglo-Indian girl to the T.” She returned to the Telugu film industry with Vastadu Naa Raju (2011), opposite Vishnu Manchu. She made a foray into Malayalam cinema later that year, with Doubles (2011), opposite Mammootty and Nadiya Moidu. Paresh C Palicha of Rediff commented: “Taapsee Pannu as Saira Banu, whose entry into the scene becomes the bone of contention between the siblings, has nothing noteworthy to do”.

After a year without a release, she was noted for her supporting role in Akshay Kumar in Neeraj Pandey’s film Baby (2015), as undercover agent Shabana Khan. Later, she had two Tamil releases, the horror comedy Muni 3, opposite Raghava Lawrence, and Aishwarya Rai. Dhanush‘s Vai Raja Vai, which featured her in a special appearance.

2016–2019: Breakthrough in Hindi films

While filming for Running Shaadi, Pannu was approached by Shoojit Sircar for the courtroom drama Pink. She was “curious and excited” about the subject as it had not “been dealt with head-on yet in mainstream cinema.” The film, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Kirti Kulhari, and Andrea Tariang, followed three girls who fight a case against a politician’s nephew for molestation. The film and Pannu’s performance received positive reviews. Rajeev Masand noted that Pannu, along with the other two ladies, “deliver natural performances as strong but emotionally vulnerable women, without a hint of affectation.” With a worldwide revenue of ₹1.08 billion (US$14 million), Pink emerged as a commercial success. Pannu later said that the film proved to be a turning point in her career, and earned her the IIFA Woman of the Year award, in addition to her first nomination for the IIFA Award for Best Actress.

Dil Juunglee (2018), co-starring Saqib Saleem, was Pannu’s first release of the year. It failed to create an impact among the critics and the audience. Her follow-up was Shaad Ali’s sports drama Soorma which was based on the life of field hockey player Sandeep Singh (played by Diljit Dosanjh). Despite mixed reviews, Soorma became a financial success. Pannu then depicted a lawyer in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk. Pannu said that the film presents true patriotism and nationalism without taking sides. Pannu’s performance was praised by Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in called her one of the “strong turns” of the film; the film earned her a first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics).

After playing the role of an antagonist in the Telugu action thriller Neevevaro, Pannu played the central role of Rumi Bagga, a free-spirited girl caught in a love triangle, in Anurag Kashyap‘s romantic drama Manmarziyaan alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal. The film premiered at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival to a positive critical reception, including for Pannu’s performance. Anupama Chopra called her performance “mercurial and mysterious and maddening”: “With her cloud of red hair enveloping her, Rumi seems, continually to be a woman on a warpath.” The same year, she also acted in two short films: Baarish aur Chowmein and Nitishastra.

2019–present: Established actress

Pannu had a string of releases in 2019 with the first one being Sujoy Ghosh‘s psychological thriller Badla, an official remake of the 2016 Spanish film The Invisible Guest. It also marked her second collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan. She was initially offered a supporting role and the film had a male lead. Pannu convinced the producer to have the lead role played by a female which he agreed on and offered her the role. Badla met with positive reviews, as did Pannu’s performance as Naina Sethi, a shrewd businesswoman. In her review of the film, film critic Namrata Joshi mentioned that Pannu is “in fine form”; the film met with strong box-office results. Pannu’s performance in the film earned the Zee Cine Award for Best Actress (Critics), in addition to her second Best Actress nomination at the annual IIFA and Screen award ceremonies. Pannu then essayed the role of a game designer who uses a wheelchair and battles a home invasion in the psychological thriller Game Over, directed by Ashwin Saravanan. The film was shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu language. During the duration of the filming, Pannu had to be in a wheelchair for 12 hours for 25 days. The film and her performance were praised; Saibal Chatterjee said that Pannu “is never less than convincing” and “may be the primary reason why you must go out a watch this film.”

In 2022, Pannu starred in the comedy thriller Looop Lapeta, an official remake of the 1998 German film Run Lola Run. It was released on the streaming platform, Netflix on 4 February 2022. The film, and Pannu’s performance, received critical acclaim, earning her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Web Original Film. She next starred in the film directed by Srijit Mukherji, based on the life of former Test and ODI captain of the India women’s national cricket team, Mithali Raj, titled Shabaash Mithu. Upon release, the film was panned by critics and audiences, and it emerged as a commercial failure at the box office; however Pannu’s performance received praise, earning her a fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics). She then starred in the sci-fi mystery film Dobaaraa, which was a remake of 2018 Spanish thriller Mirage (2018), her second collaboration with director Anurag Kashyap The film and Pannu’s performance received positive reviews; however, it emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. In December, her first production venture Blurr was released online on Zee5. A remake of the Spanish thriller film Julia’s Eyes (2010), the film marked Pannu’s third film to be remade from a Spanish original, after Badla (2019) and Dobaara (2022). The film received praise for its atmospherics, visuals, cinematography, and Pannu’s performance.

Pannu will next be seen in Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki starring Shah Rukh Khan and will reprise her role as Rani in Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba, reuniting with Massey. Pannu is also set to appear in Barath Neelakantan’s sci-fi project titled, Alien.

Other works and public image

Raghuvendra Singh of Filmfare says Pannu is “one of the most versatile actresses in the industry“. Verve‘s Zaral Shah finds her to be “frank and forthright”. Aditi Bhimjyani of Vogue noted, “Pannu has been busy making her unforgettable mark via her filmography of strong leading roles.” Femina’s Shraddha Kamdar calls her a “self-made artiste” who is “unafraid of challenges”. Sukanya Verma was featured in Rediff’s list of the ‘Best Bollywood Actresses’ in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

In 2017, Pannu was featured in Forbes India‘s 30 Under 30 list. In 2018, she featured in Forbes India’s list of Celebrity 100 at 67th position with an estimated income of ₹15.48 crore (US$1.9 million). She was featured for a second time in 2019, ranking 68th. Pannu has frequently featured in Times’ 50 Most Desirable Women list, she ranked 36th in 2019, and 23rd in 2020. Pannu is an active celebrity endorser for Uber, Garnier, Nivea, Kurkure, and Women’s Horlicks.

Pannu runs an event management company called “The Wedding Factory” which she manages along with her sister Shagun and friend Farah Parvaresh. In 2018, she bought the badminton franchise Pune 7 Aces which plays in the Premier Badminton League. In 2019, Pannu raised awareness about children’s health, and gender parity on Twitter with hashtag #WhyTheGap. In December 2022, she attended NDTV‘s show “Jai Jawan” and tested her mettle.

Filmography (Taapsee Pannu Biography)

Films

Television (Taapsee Pannu Biography)

Short films (Taapsee Pannu Biography)

Accolades (Taapsee Pannu Biography)

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