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
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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.