Taapsee Pannu means one who meditates, explains the debut actor in Jhummandi Naadam . Taapsee has been Miss India-2008, before that she had done innumerable print advertisements, promoted various brands before signing Raghavendra Rao's 105th film. Bored of modelling, Taapsee says acting is lot more creative and challenging and after signing up she googled the director's name and was more than happy for choosing the film.
Taapsee had an easy time with the first scene on first day, she says, “a couple of dancers took a pumpkin and rotated it while I stood smiling. I guess it's about nazar utaarna . Later, it was fun working. The producer Lakshmi who is the hero's sisterhandpicked jewellery and costumes and even used her personal accessories for my scenes; they made me feel like a queen.”
The actress gushes about the transformation she went through on screen. It wasn't just about being decked up and smiling at the camera, Taapsee had to dance in the hot sun in Tirupati for a Sankranthi song when the temperature crossed 45 degree Celsius. She is optimistic that all the hard work will pay off one day. A trained Kathak dancer for eight years and for the past four years she's been with the batch of Shaimak Davar training as an instructor.
Any memorable moments while filming? Oh yes she quips. The unit had been in Araku, the forest area and one fine evening Manoj dressed up in a chimpanzee suit scared and scandalized everyone.
