Taapsee Pannu has weighed in on the growing conversation of female roles in Indian cinema. In recent times, the portrayal of women characters in two big-budget films, Ram Charan's Peddi and Yash's Toxic, received intense backlash online. Addressing the controversy, Taapsee said the film industry often deflects criticism by claiming such content is only a response to audience demand.
During a chat with Zoom TV, Taapsee shared that the industry often blames the audience for such portrayals and called it a battle that actors cannot win without the support of audiences. “No matter how much noise you make, you'll probably still find an equal number of profiles on social media using the same picture, zooming in on it, using weird angles in different kinds of videos and pictures, and kind of making it viral. So, there is an audience for that on social media.”
Calling the whole process “demand and supply", Taapsee added, “People think ki janta maang rahi hai toh humko dena chahiye (People think if the audience wants this, we should deliver), how else will we earn money?" So art takes a back seat; craft takes a back seat. We did progress a lot before Covid, where we were catching up with the best, but now we are again slacking. And all the makers will blame the audience, and that's where we all actors fail to give a comeback. That's a battle we will lose, and only the audience has to help us win it.”
Taapsee's remarks came amid the recent backlash on social media for both Peddi and Toxic. In Peddi, the hypersexualisation of Janhvi Kapoor's character drew criticism. Social media users targeted the camera work, romantic scenes and the emphasis on Janhvi's character's physical appearance rather than the character itself. The scenes were later removed from the film by the director, who also issued an apology.
On the other hand, the portrayal of women in Toxic: A Fairy Tale for Grown Ups became a subject of debate even before the film's release. The criticism intensified after its release, with some viewers accusing the makers of objectifying female characters and presenting them only through glamour, sensuality and their relationships with the male protagonist.
Taapsee Pannu was recently seen in the Netflix film Gandhari. Directed by Devashish Makhija, the action thriller film also stars Ishwak Singh, Chhaya Kadam, Swastika Mukherjee, and Mita Vashisht in other prominent roles. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
