‘Haseen Dilruba’, ‘Thappad’: 4 times Taapsee Pannu aced strong female roles

Gone are the days when women were only presented as secondary characters in Bollywood films. From being portrayed as a damsel in distress to now fighting her own battle and coming out strong, there is a noticeable change in the script of Bollywood filmmakers for female stars.

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One such actor, who has brought strong female characters into the spotlight, and has played roles that many women can associate with is Taapsee Pannu. This time, she has done it with a recent release ‘Haseen Dilruba’, that was released on Netflix on July 2.

Let’s take a look at times when Tapsee Pannu aced strong female roles:

‘Haseen Dilruba’ (2021)

In her latest release, Taapsee plays Rani Kashyap, a Delhi girl married in a small town. Unlike her past roles in ‘Pink’ and ‘Thappad’, where the characters played by her stand up against injustice, in ‘Haseen Dilruba‘, she plays a housewife, who owns up her flaws.

And we don’t need to tell you how much strength it takes in a society that expects women to be a certain way. Rani doesn’t know how to cook, which can be an earth-shattering phenomenon in small towns, she runs a beauty parlour and is good at it and she doesn’t shy away from expressing her desires. 

‘Thappad’ (2020)

In this National Award-winning film, Taapsee plays Amrita, a homemaker, happy and satisfied with her life and her husband, until her spouse slaps her publically. That one slap makes her realise all that was wrong around her that she chose to ignore for so long. Initially finding it difficult to wake up to reality, Amrita seeks divorce.

Also, all the men and women around her trying to convince her to change her decision is a strong reflection of what is expected from a woman in the face of injustice.

‘Saand Ki Aankh’ (2019)

In this 2019 biopic, Taapsee Pannu played Prakashi Tomar and teamed up with Bhumi Pednekar, who plays Chandro Tomar, the duo collectively known as shooter dadis.

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The film was about the duo, who dared to break societal norms to follow their passion. For her power-packed performance, Pannu bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics).

Pink (2016)

Who can forget this 2016 film that broke the infamous notion that “ladki ki na mein haan hai (in a girl’s no there is a yes)” set by several Bollywood films and set the record straight that “no, means no.”

Also read: Kangana Ranaut hits back as Taapsee Pannu calls her ‘irrelevant’

In this, Taapsee plays a strong woman, who stands up against the system, when she is molested by a powerful man. Pannu makes a mark in this film, in which she shared the screen with ace actors, such as Amitabh Bachchan and Piyush Mishra.