She’s a Punjabi who grew up in Delhi, but currently, it’s Chennai that’s close to Taapsee’s heart. Okay, that’s quite clichéd to say considering the amount of work she has here, but the actor has actually taken her love for the city to the next level with her latest signing.
No, this isn’t about any film that she’s committed to. The actor, who burst into Kollywood playing Irene in Dhanush’s critically-acclaimed Aadukalam , has recently signed on as brand ambassador for Chennai Turns Pink, an NGO division of West Cancer Research Foundation, to spread awareness on breast cancer. As part of the campaign, she’ll appear in social service messages and take part in awareness events as well.
“As celebrities, people tend to listen to you. We need to exploit the status we have to educate people, especially youngsters, about issues they need to be concerned about. The least I could do is spread the word,” she starts off, “If this could urge college-going girls to undergo self-examination and keep a watch on their food habits, that would be half the battle won.”
For Taapsee, women’s issues have always been priority and she’s always game for causes that relate to them. Back home, she’s associated with an NGO that helps rape survivors and educates girl children from the economically-weak sections of the society. Why this particular focus on women? “I always believe that a healthy and educated woman makes a family what it is. It automatically translates to a happy family,” she explains.
When she’s not championing such causes, the actor is busy doing something else she loves — facing the arc lights. In fact, she’s currently busy shooting nights for her upcoming horror flick Muni 3 starring Raghava Lawrence. Ask her about it and she says, “Even before I heard the script, I was determined to say no. I usually don’t like to listen to a story and then say no as it might hurt the director. After a lot of hesitation, I heard Muni 3 and was hooked on to it.”
The fact that she is not a fan of the horror genre made things difficult for her to accept the script. “I don’t like watching scary movies at all,” she admits, “But now, having almost completed work on Muni and knowing how horror movies are shot, I don’t think I’ll be scared anymore.”
Other than that, there’s the cameo role in Aishwarya Dhanush’s Vai Raja Vai she’s looking forward to. “This was another character I wanted to say no to but Aishwarya just wouldn’t give up — she wanted me to play it,” reveals Taapsee, “It is one of those roles that comes just for a few sequences but changes the entire course of the story.”
Bollywood is also on the actor’s radar, with a rom-com, Runningshaadi . com , set to hit screens soon. Then, there’s a film titled Baby that sees her teaming up with Akshay Kumar. Now that she’s settled in Kollywood, having done films with top stars, is she North-bound? “The one and only reason I could possibly be looking at Bollywood is because I’m comfortable with the language. Other than that, I’m open for cinema in any language. Aadukalam gave me a big break and audiences here in Tamil Nadu have accepted me…for whatever reason. I respect that.”
Taapsee can sense a big shift in perception among her peers and friends in the North towards cinema down South. “I know how Chennai, and the South, was perceived before and how it is viewed now,” she states. With films like Chennai Express and 2 States prominently featuring South Indians, the audiences’ outlook has changed, she says. “Today, when I shoot for a Tamil film in some areas in the North, they recognise actors and look forward to their movies. With the increasing number of South remakes in Hindi, there is an active interest among the general movie-going public in the North towards the kind of films being made here. They understand that South cinema has taken over the country by storm.”
In filmdom, she just has a small desire — and that’s a women-related issue as well. “I’d love to work with more women directors. It was just a cameo in Aishwaya’s film but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are several emotions that a woman goes through — perhaps much more than men — and they can be best mirrored on screen by women filmmakers.”
