Interview: Taapsee Pannu on Naam Shabana, Judwaa 2, Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan

Taapsee Pannu won over the audiences with her short yet impactful cameo in Akshay Kumar's Baby. The actress is hoping that the audiences shower the same amount of love to Naam Shabana as the film narrates the story of Shabana Khan before Baby.

In an interview with us, the actress revealed that she would start shooting for Judwaa 2 right after the release of Naam Shabana.

Was there always a plan to make a stand alone film on your character?

When we shot for Baby, none of us thought about the possibility of making a film on the character of Shabana. The audience reaction made Neeraj Pandey think of making this film. We realized the potential to come up with a story on its own with Shabana as a central character, only after Baby released.

Do you feel pressurised by the expectations given the fact that Baby was received quite well?

It would have been scary if Neeraj Pandey was in two minds to make this film. I think this is the best character any female would get. The names associated with the film (Neeraj Pandey and Akshay Kumar) were enough to get me on board.

How confident are you about the film?

Audiences are responsible for this film to be made so I hope that they give the same amount of love that they gave to my character in Baby. So far I just expect them to give this film a shot and apart from that as far as my position is concerned in this industry, the film will show another side of mine which people have not seen before.

Was it a conscious decision to highlight Akshay Kumar’s cameo in the trailer?

Akshay Kumar is a big star and it would be stupid for us to say that we won’t use his presence. His presence in any way would help the film for good.

Would you mind auditioning for films even at this stage of your career?

I have auditioned for big films and I have failed. I have never passed a single audition in my life and out of all the films that I have done so far, none of them have been through audition. I know I am not good in auditions because I am not a trained actor. I need my director to talk to me and get me into that mode.

How do you plan your career in this industry?

Everyone have their own choice of path. There are some who want to do off beat films and there are some who like being a part of those big commercial films. I don’t want to get stuck in either of the zones. I want to do both and I try to balance the same.