CONFESSIONS: Judwaa 2 Star Taapsee Pannu On BIKINI BODY, FAST DANCING & Lots More
Taapsee Pannu reveals everything that made her do Judwaa 2, how she enjoyed dancing with Varun Dhawan, what all she did to get into the perfect shape to don a bikini, and what her immediate future holds for her
She has sizzled
in a bikini in Judwaa 2. She has shocked the Bollywood film-goer by doing those
jhatak-matak numbers, so unlike her history in B-town. And she has a little controversy
brewing up around one of her forthcoming films.
Judwaa 2 has set
the cash registers ringing and the time is right to talk to her.
Let's go
straight over to Taapsee Pannu and ask her some right questions:
Taapsee Pannu Poses For A Photo Shoot
Judwaa 2 has
got in a huge amount of people to the theatres. The first two days have
witnessed Rs 36 crore plus collection...
Feels
great.
Were you
nervous before the release that there might be comparisons with Salman Khan's
Judwaa and then you know how it is...
No, I was not
nervous. I trusted it to open very well. I knew Judwaa is one property which
the people own and have a certain nostalgia attached with it. So either way, whether
the people want to relive it or want to see what we have done with
it, people would come to the theatres. All said and done, I am not
surprised at the flying start it has garnered regardless whether it is running
in A, B or C centre.
How did this
masala film come your way? Asking you this specifically keeping in mind
because you had got somewhat bracketed with serious
content...
Yeah, and before
I get fully bracketed into serious content, I decided to do an out-n-out
commercial film. It is sad how the media and audience start stereo-typing us
and bracket our career. I didn't want anybody to do that to me. Judwaa 2 was a
deliberate attempt to exhibit to people what they don't expect me to do
(pauses).
Go on...
David Dhawan had
worked with me before and he had faith in my versatility. He knew what he could
get from me on the screen for a typical potboiler.
I
met Sajid Nadiadwala sir, and he asked me if i would be interested in a film
like Judwaa 2.
Taapsee Pannu In Naam Shabana
And?
I told him that
I have grown up seeing such films, and it would be stupid to not do something
that excites me. Isn't it boring to keep repeating the same kind of genre?
Isn't it refreshing to rejuvenate and re-energise yourself?
Were you
getting bogged down a bit because some of your films hadn't done well in the
recent past?
No, I wasn't. I
think all my films, except Running Shaadi, have done pretty well at the box-office;
just one film's disappointing run is a very small minority to be bogged down
upon. My film Naam Shabana has been the highest grosser women-centric film this
year, so far. It depends on you how you see it--- whether you want to see it as
an Akshay Kumar film who did a 5-day work in it or as a film which is helmed by
almost a new face who is not really in A-list category.
I am lucky that
I established ground on a non-safe zone by doing out-of-the-box films and the
audience accepted me. Everyone does not get such opportunities. Now, it
will be easier for me to do safe-zone films. That is how Judwaa 2 happened, and
people can see the rest.
Those fast
jhatak matak dances you have done in Judwaa 2, was it easy to match steps with
Varun Dhawan? You told me the other day that you are a trained classical
dancer, but wasn't Judwaa 2 stuff radically different?
Training
in classical dancing gives you a very strong base, so much so that can pull off
any dance format in the world. Plus, I have been dancing to Bollywood songs
since I was 6-years old; dancing has been my first love. In fact, acting is
something that I have learnt recently- something that I never wanted to do but
ended up doing. You can make out from the film how happy I look while dancing.
Let me rewind; I have done similar dances down South... lekin haan, Bollywood
me pehli baar hai.
Coming
to the first part of your question, it was fine dancing with Varun. No stress.
I have danced in South films with some very good dancers. The great part was
that Varun is very passionate about dancing, and it is great to get a co-star
like that when you yourself are equally passionate about the same. His energy
rubbed off on me and I hope he too feels the same about me.
We haven't
seen you wearing short dresses either, like you done in Judwaa 2. Were you
comfortable?
If I was not
comfortable, it would have reflected on screen. I worked very hard on my body
and I knew what I was getting into. It's not that I didn't have an opportunity
to don a bikini before Judwaa 2. I could have done it down South. But I don't
think that I had the right body for a bikini then.
I don't think
there's anything wrong to get into a bikini or a short dress. If you feel you
can pull it off, why not? When I thought that I had the right body for a
bikini, I went ahead with it.
What did you
do to get the right body for a bikini?
I had to do a
lot of gym sessions. I was never a gym person, I am a sports person who loves
playing squash in particular. Sp squash etc can make you thin and fit. But to
get into a bikini, you need to have muscles which are extremely toned. i joined
gym for a full six months. Pehle squash jaati, aur wahan se baad mein gym.
Diet?
A few
restrictions, not much though. I went glutton-free and lactose free. I
will never force my body to any crash diet, it helps you to pull down soonest
but once you leave it, you pronto go back to being what you were. So sometimes,
I had a bit of fried food and cakes too; I have quite a fetish for cakes.
Tapsee Pannu On Dancing With Varun Dhawan
Are you going
to maintain the Judwaa 2 body or...?
I will now look
more like I do in Judwaa 2, and if and when required to get back to the bikini
body, will need just 15 days.
What's on your plate after Judwaa 2?
I
am doing Anubhav Sinha's social thriller Mulk with Rishi Kapoor sir and many
other actors, and then I have the hockey player Sandeep Singh's biopic opposite
Diljit Dosanjh, directed by Shaad Ali and produced by Chitrangada Singh.
There is buzz that you are doing a film with John Abraham, the Hindi
version of The Invisible Guest. Co-producers fought, one set wanted you, the
other wanted Kriti Sanon...
I
don't get into ugly battles. My take is: When the Studio is in place and the
project is ready to take off, the names of the cast will be announced and only
then people should infer.
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