Image instagrammed by Taapsee. (Courtesy: TaapseePannu)
Taapsee Pannu's big-screen production Dhak Dhak hit the theatres on Friday. The film features Ratna Pathak Shah, Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi in lead roles. The film deals with four women embarking on a daring motorcycle adventure through the tough terrain of Leh. The film had a special screening on Wednesday though Taapsee Pannu was MIA from the event. In a recent interview with ETimes, Taapsee Pannu expressed her discontent about the culture of Bollywood which favours only star power. Taapsee said, "I truly believe in a good subject as an actor and a producer. Dhak Dhak is an interesting story, and we've left no stone unturned to ensure it makes for a great visual and emotional experience. Sadly, the entire system still revolves around the stars including the OTT, and everyone passes the buck. The film's trailer was dropped barely four days before the release. I heard things like 'yeh female oriented hai, sirf niche audience aayegi, itnay shows nahi milenge, baad mein OTT pe aani hi hai so why stress?' XYZ ka trailer bhi late drop hua tha but my film is not Jawan. Smaller films need a certain push. People are free to accept or reject them, but they need a fair chance to be seen.''
Dhak Dhak is directed by debutant Tarun Dudeja. Sharing her concern for her film getting lesser number of shows and limited promotions, Taapsee said, ''I have a first-time director Tarun Dudeja helming this, good actors who have given it their all. They learnt how to ride the bike for it. If there's no buzz around the film, no promotions, one or two shows playing in theatres at strange times, the film is bound to go unnoticed. Everyone will be quick to label it as a 'flop'. Once you get that label, will people even watch it on OTT later? Isn't this infuriating?''
It's believed OTT platforms have brought some balance in the industry as actors of different calibres get chances here. However, dismissing the notion, Taapsee said she was 'shattered' at the response when she narrated the first line of her story. She continued, "This myth I had about people believing in 'content is king' was shattered while making this film. There's so much hypocrisy. They will hear your one-line story and will be quick to ask, "Picture mein actor kaun hai?" That decides their financial and emotional investment in the project. As an actor, I never asked who my co-star is, or how big the makers are when I signed a movie. I worked with so many first-time directors and costars who were newcomers but that is not how others look at it."
Taapsee Pannu was seen in Vinil Mathew's Haseen Dillruba, starring Vikrant Massey and Rashmi Rocket. She also starred in Shabaash Mithu, based on the life of Mithali Raj. She will next be seen in Rajkumar Hirani's Dunki, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan. Taapsee Pannu made her debut as a producer with Blurr. She also acted in that movie alongside Gulshan Devaiah.