We all broke down while filming Pink

Ever since the trailer of Taapsee Pannu’s upcoming film ‘Pink’ was released, she’d been getting rave reviews. The film, slated to release on September 16, seems very promising as seen in the riveting trailer, which has generated a great deal of buzz. “It feels great that we are getting a good response. We have done our best and the verdict will come out soon,” says the Delhi-based model-turned-actress.

‘Pink’ is a courtroom drama thriller and Taapsee is playing the role of “Miss Arora”, a girl who fights for justice along with her two friends. It is evident from the trailer that the film sees her playing a very intense and aggressive role. One wonders if such roles are difficult to portray, and if they affect you in real time. Taapsee reflects, “Yes, it does.

Mainly because you go through these feelings throughout the period of shoot. You have to convince yourself that you have experienced it all. And imagining that you’ve gone through something grueling isn’t obviously fun. Your brain is affected big time by the end of it.

And it was the period after the film when you become extremely sensitive and vulnerable. It takes time to break out of it. It took me a week to snap out of my character.” Elaborating on how the process of filming was, Taapsee reveals that she broke down several times during the filming of ‘Pink’.

“Not just me. All of us (Andrea and Kirti) did. The tears you see in the trailer are real. We did not have to use glycerin even once,” she shares. And was there some kind of connect with the character? Did she ever face any form of harassment in real life? “Being a Delhi girl, I understand that eve-teasing is very common.

We’ve all gone through it, especially when travelling in DTC buses, metros and public places. People touching you with wrong intentions have happened to me as well. But I have never experienced anything as intense as in the film,” Taapsee informs, adding, “But getting into the skin of the character was easy. Being a Delhi girl, I had to be myself.”

The film marks her first collaboration with superstar Amitabh Bachchan and she confesses that it was a lifetime experience, something she’d cherish for long. “I had already said yes before knowing that Mr Bachchan was a part of the film.

As much as I loved working with such a stalwart; frankly speaking, even if not for him, this is a film I would have been a part of, solely for how strong and powerful it is. Acting with such a legend was just an added benefit. The fact that you are sharing screen space with Bachchan sir, and that too in an equally strong or might I say stronger role makes it even better,” she says.

Talking about her preparation for the role she says, “I saw a lot of videos of courtroom happenings to understand how victims react in court. After release of the ‘Pink’, people will remember it as the best on-screen courtroom drama ever in Bollywood!”

Taapsee will be seen alongside newcomer Andrea Tariang and ‘Shaitan’ actress Kirti Kulhari in the film, and she shares that working with them was amazing. “This is Andrea’s first film. She is a musician actually. Everything is new to her and probably that was the best part, and she was very natural in front of camera and that really goes in favour of the film.

She portrays herself. Even in the film her name is Andrea. She has done a great job for a newcomer and people will remember her when they get out of the theatre. Kirti on the other hand is a trained actor and has done a lot of theatre. When you have such good co-actors, your job becomes easy,” she states.

Meanwhile, Taapsee has done a number of films down south and we ask her how different Bollywood is. She thinks for a while before saying, “Both have been the same for me barring the language. I don’t see much difference working in South and in Bollywood. I learnt Tamil and Telugu, and can manage in both the languages really well, so even that barrier isn’t there anymore for me.”

On a parting note we ask her about the buzz that she would be portraying Irom Sharmila in a biopic. Quashing the reports, she says, “It is not true. I was approached for the role but I have not read the script. After ‘Pink’, I begin work on my next and so I don’t really have time to sit and read the script. I will do so soon and only then will I decide if I am doing the film or not.”