‘THERE’S A PRICE YOU PAY TO BE A PUBLIC FIGURE’

Actor Taapsee Pannu talks about not forcing her opinion on anyone, and her infamous ‘befitting replies’ on Twitter

Not one who reserves her comments for an opportune moment, Taapsee Pannu has always spoken her mind. Even if she gets trolled for her ‘befitting replies’, the actor says she won’t stop hitting back at those who try to pull her down. At her candid best yet again, Pannu talks about happily being an ‘outsider’, hatred army on twitter, celebs being under scrutiny, and Sushant Singh Rajput’s death turning into a circus.

As the nepotism debate rages on, can you ever call yourself an insider? Does it even matter now?

I’ve never felt inferior calling myself an outsider; it’s not a derogatory word. It’s just a tag that’s put on you basis the family you were born in, and the access you had to the film industry.

Tomorrow if my kid becomes an actor, I’ll be an insider. Yes, it’s a tougher journey but I’m glad I could turn the tables to a large extent. It’s not like wrong and unfair things don’t happen to me now but I still don’t see them as a reason that’ll make me bitter about the industry.

Amid all the flak, do you wish people just left Bollywood alone for a while?

There’s a very thin line between our reel and real personalities, so the audiences, expect us to live up to the image we’ve created with our films, and hence demand an opinion and I’m not totally against that. There’s a price you pay to be a public figure. But either agree or agree to disagree with that opinion. Don’t spew hate or get angry at us for not having an opinion — then you’re forcing your opinion on us.

Is it too much pressure when you’re expected to comment on every little controversy that erupts?

Forcing me to have an opinion is also equivalent to asking me to think the same way you think; that’s wrong. If an issue makes me think, I mention it but I don’t point fingers. I address the issue, not the people involved in it. I don’t force my opinion or pull others down to climb up.

Does the troll army that gets after your ‘befitting replies’ bother you?

I don’t call those bots trolls, they’re machines. I’m talking about people who’re either misguided or brainwashed into hating someone. Maybe they aren’t used to seeing a female actor respond with sarcasm. They don’t realise they’re adding up to a very good image that they’ve built for me that has only benefited me. So, I call these them my closeted wellwishers.