The actress got Pink role after a popular actor refused it, says the film’s director

Someone else’s loss was Taapsee’s gain

Everyone remembers Taapsee Pannu’s powerhouse performance in Pink, but she got the role only after “a popular female actor” refused it, director of the film Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury has said. Aniruddha, however, did not divulge the name of the actor who rejected the role of Meenal Arora. At a discussion during the 23rd Kolkata International Film Festival, director of the 2016 film was speaking on how it was made. “I had narrated the story four and half years back to director-producer friend Shoojit Sircar onboard a flight and he was hooked to the idea. A popular female actor had refused to do the character which was ultimately given to Taapsee Pannu,” Aniruddha said.

The Pink project got rolling when Amitabh Bachchan agreed to do the film after listening to the story only for 5 minutes at his residence, he said adding that the rest is history. “A film happens when everyone starts believing in the subject. We see so many things around us everyday, but do we react?” Aniruddha said. Pink is a powerful statement on moral policing and the mindset of the country where men and women are judged by a different yardstick.

The director said his first film Anuranan made in 2006 also talked about moral policing. “Actually social element is an integral part of a film,” he said. Aniruddha said he also felt strongly about his Bengali film Buno

Haansh made in 2014. “I remember how a 20,000 strong crowd showered their affection to the film crew in Bangladesh which had been released in both Kolkata and Dhaka. Buno Haansh will remain as much favourite to me as Pink,” he said.