Taapsee Pannu Reflects on Dunki and Assi Journey

Taapsee Pannu calls Dunki a gift for her decade-long struggle in content-driven cinema.

Taapsee Pannu Reflects

If you spent a decade building a house brick by brick, would you call the roof a “gift” or a result?

For Taapsee Pannu, the answer is a bit of both. In a refreshing departure from the usual PR-polished banter, the actor recently sat down with Screen to dissect her survival in an industry that often prioritizes “viability” over versatility. She didn’t mince words.

Getting cast in a Rajkumar Hirani film alongside Shah Rukh Khan wasn’t just a career milestone; it was a payout for ten years of playing on the “home ground” of gritty, uncomfortable cinema.

“A film like Dunki is difficult to get for someone like me,” she admitted. It’s a startling confession from an actor with multiple hits under her belt. But Taapsee’s reality is grounded in a specific identity.

She isn’t the quintessential “commercial heroine” who exists to look glamorous in the background. She is the woman who made the industry stop and listen with Pink, Thappad, and most recently, Assi.

The Unspoken Trilogy of Truth

Most observers see Assi as just another courtroom drama. They’re missing the bigger picture. This film marks the third chapter in a powerful partnership between Pannu and director Anubhav Sinha.

From the communal tensions of Mulk to the domestic boundaries of Thappad, the duo has carved out a “Social Cinematic Universe” that doesn’t just entertain—it indicts.

In Assi, released on February 20, Taapsee steps into the shoes of a lawyer fighting a sexual assault case. It’s a heavy mantle, but as she notes, it is exactly these “non-commercial” choices that convinced the makers of Dunki that she had the substance to hold her own against King Khan.

The “Massy” Foundation Everyone Forgets

There is a common misconception that Taapsee “evolved” into a serious actor from a frivolous beginning. That’s a myth. She is quick to point out that her career started in the deep end of commercial cinema.

From high-octane South Indian “mass” entertainers to her Hindi debut with the king of comedy, David Dhawan, she has done it all.

Here is the counter-intuitive truth: doing those “in-your-face” commercial films early on gave her the technical chops and the thick skin needed to survive the struggle of content-driven cinema later. She isn’t doing serious films because she can’t do commercial ones; she’s doing them because she has earned the right to choose.

The Reality of the Box Office

While Assi hasn’t set the box office on fire—earning ₹5.75 crore net in India and ₹6.75 crore globally—the numbers don’t tell the full story.

In a post-pandemic world where audiences often wait for “serious” films to hit OTT platforms, the very act of releasing a film like Assi in theaters is a gamble.

It features a powerhouse ensemble including Revathy and Naseeruddin Shah, proving that Taapsee’s “small” audience is one built on a foundation of absolute trust.+2

Key Takeaways:

• Dunki as a Reward: Taapsee views her big-budget roles as “gifts” earned through a decade of niche, high-quality work.
• Identity Over Image: She embraces her status as a non-traditional heroine, creditng films like Assi and Gandhari for her industry space.
• Sinha-Pannu Synergy: Assi marks a significant third collaboration with Anubhav Sinha, reinforcing her reputation in social dramas.
• Commercial Roots: Her career began with David Dhawan and massy South films, providing a versatile foundation for her current “classy” roles.
• Box Office Resilience: Despite a modest ₹5.75 crore domestic collection, Assi continues Taapsee’s streak of challenging theatrical norms.

Taapsee knows the struggle isn’t over. She isn’t sure when the next “gift” like Dunki will come her way. But as long as directors like Sinha and Kashyap keep calling, she’s perfectly happy defending her home ground.