Actor Taapsee Pannu has spoken candidly about the film industry’s long-standing fixation on the female body, clarifying that earlier remarks about Bollywood and South Indian cinema were widely misinterpreted. She addressed the issue after excerpts from a previous conversation resurfaced online, prompting renewed debate.

In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Pannu explained that comments she made on a podcast were misrepresented. She said she had been presented with the idea that South cinema is “midriff-obsessed” while Hindi films emphasise cleavage, but stressed that her broader point was about the “gaze” applied to women on screen, not about region-specific traits.

She noted that she never intended to reinforce the narrative that Bollywood fixates on cleavage while the South focuses on midriffs. Instead, she argued that the real issue lies in how female actors are visually framed, regardless of which body part is emphasised on screen.

Early-career choices

Reflecting on her initial years in the industry, Pannu revealed she avoided overtly glamorous roles in Hindi cinema, which meant she was seldom asked to alter her appearance or expose midriff or cleavage. In contrast, she recalled being asked to do so more often in South films, largely due to the types of parts she accepted at the time.

Speaking about the discomfort of such requests, she said, “I don’t know what the obsession is, but let’s own that there’s an obsession, whether in Hindi or in the South. Which part of yours is highlighted, that’s not the point. The point is, there’s an obsession. It was obviously awkward for the director as well because they had to convey this to me. And how do you do that when the set hardly has any women, right? So, you have to convey it indirectly. When she comes back from the van, the director obviously has to check whether it works or not. So, this whole process is slightly awkward.”

Pannu added that, as a newcomer, she followed direction because she believed that was expected of her.

She continued, “I was too new. I thought this was how it’s done. The director is the captain of the ship, and you have to listen to the captain. I had to do it, unless it was really crossing the line. You also feel this is what heroines are doing, so I’m also supposed to do this. I never look back at it thinking I wish I hadn’t done those parts. Because if I didn’t do it, I’d always be craving to do that. No matter what you do, you want to be called a mainstream actress. Unless you do those parts, you won’t be called a mainstream actress.”

New projects

On the work front, Pannu is currently receiving acclaim for her performance in ‘Assi’, released on 20 February, a courtroom drama directed by Anubhav Sinha. She plays a lawyer fighting for justice for a rape survivor, starring alongside actors Kani Kusruti, Revathi, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra and Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub. The film has drawn mixed critical response and has reportedly grossed more than ₹5 crore at the box office.