Naam Shabana

and actress Taapsee Pannu is again in the new for her most- awaited next film, Naam Shabana. Pannu, who is being applauded for her different look and fight sequences in the film, looks set to once again steal the show.

While promoting her film in Delhi, the actress spoke to Guardian 20 about her intense character in the film.

Q. After Pink, Naam Shabana is your most-awaited film, which is a spin-off of the film Baby. Could you tell us about your character? A.

India is pretty new in terms of showing spin-offs. It’s the first ever spin-off in India. Hollywood makes spin- offs quite regularly. The film is about the making of a spy and my character is from an area like Bhindi Bazaar in Mumbai. And if you compare it with Delhi, it would be like a girl from Chandni Chowk. She has a very regular middle class life but she has certain characteristics which make people spot her. And why is she spotted? For this you have to watch the film. Her sixth sense is very strong, her reaction timings are good, and she is very athletic, like in the way she moves around. And these reasons lead to her selection, and why she wants to do it and why she’s agreed to be a spy is an important part of the film. Director: Shivam Nair Starring: Manoj Bajpayee, Taapsee Pannu, Akshay Kumar, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Danny Denzongpa, Anupam Kher, Taher Shabbir Naam Shabana, a spin-off from the 2015 popular film Baby, is purported to be an action thriller where Shabana Khan (Taapsee Pannu) is a middle-class girl who lives with her mother and has a devoted boyfriend, college mate Jai (Taher Shabbir).

An incident one night convinces her to put her martial arts training to use and she chooses to follow an uncharted path thereon. How she joins an intelligence group to save her country from unwanted elements beginning with a global arms kingpin, forms the crux of this two-hour plus film.

This is a film which exudes an aura of intrigue and being much-anticipated, one goes in with a lot of expectations. But alas, the first half which starts with a fair amount of promise and an emotional

Q. You look serious in the trailer. So, how did you manage to get that intense look? A.

I am the complete opposite of Shabana. I talk a lot, and I love to express a lot. I think it’s majorly because of my directors. In this case, we had Neeraj Sir (Neeraj pandey) along with Shivam Sir (Shivam Nair) who somehow fed me with the information. I can be very easily molded in front of a camera. If you see my previous films, say Pink, quotient, degenerates into a mindless action film which fails to grip you and drags. The weak and far-fetched plot meanders aimlessly, hinged on a weak motive both of the protagonist, Shabana as well as the intelligence group she works for.

The action scenes are expectedly well-choreographed and executed, but lack freshness as these offer nothing new. The foreign locales too don’t help in elevating the film. The characters, perhaps with the exception of Shabana, whose back story is shared to make her look complete, are all one-dimensional and appear out of nowhere. The dialogues are trite and lack punch.

The film is Taapsee’s canvas all the way and one must laud her martial arts prowess and hard work which shines I am not that intense and helpless also. So, when my director feeds my head, then I transform myself. Even when I saw the intense look in the trailers even I began to wonder how I had reached it during the shooting process. I couldn’t recognise myself. Her character is very intense. She is scanning everything and noticing whatever is happening around her. I take everything by face value and don’t bother what is happening around. I had