Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu (born 1 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam language films. She is the recipient of two Filmfare Awards. After a brief modelling career, Pannu made her acting debut with the 2010 Telugu film "Jhummandi Naadam" and went on to act in the 2011 Tamil film "Aadukalam". She made her Hindi film debut with David Dhawan's comedy "Chashme Baddoor" (2013). After playing the leading lady in several Telugu and Tamil films, Pannu gained notice for her performances in the Hindi spy film "Baby" (2015) and the courtroom  drama "Pink" (2016), both of which were critical and commercial successes. Pannu gained prominence in Hindi cinema with the war drama "The Ghazi Attack" (2017), the social drama "Mulk" (2018), the romantic drama "Manmarziyaan" (2018), the thriller "Badla" (2019), and the space drama "Mission Mangal" (2019). For portraying the septuagenarian sharpshooter Prakashi Tomar in the biopic "Saand Ki Aankh" (2019), she won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, and for playing a homemaker going through a divorce in Anubhav Sinha's drama "Thappad" (2020), she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Apart from acting, Pannu runs an event  management company called The Wedding Factory. She is also the owner of the badminton franchise Pune 7 Aces, which plays in the Premier Badminton League. Early life. Taapsee Pannu was born on 1 August 1987 in New Delhi to Dilmohan Singh Pannu and Nirmaljeet. She is of Punjabi descent. Her father is a retired real estate agent while her mother is a homemaker. She also has a younger sister, Shagun. She did her schooling at the Mata Jai Kaur Public School in Ashok Vihar and did her graduation in Computer Science Engineering from the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology . After completing her graduation, Pannu worked as a software engineer. She became a full-time model after she auditioned and was selected for Channel V's 2008 talent show "Get Gorgeous", which eventually led her to acting. Pannu has been appearing in numerous print and television commercials and won several titles during her modelling days, including "Pantaloons Femina Miss Fresh Face" and "Safi Femina Miss Beautiful Skin" at the 2008 Femina Miss India contest. As a model, she endorsed brands such as Reliance Trends, Red FM 93.5, UniStyle Image, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Pantaloon, PVR Cinemas, Standard Chartered Bank, Dabur, Airtel , Tata Docomo, World Gold Council, Havells and Vardhman. After a few years, she lost interest in modeling as she thought that she could never gain proper recognition through modelling, but only through films, and finally decided to act. Career. 2010–2015: Early work. Pannu made her cinematic debut in 2010 with K. Raghavendra Rao's romantic musical "Jhummandi Naadam". She played the role of the daughter of a USA–based millionaire who comes to India to research traditional Telugu music. Pannu got three more offers in Telugu prior to the film's release. Her next film "Aadukalam" (2011), marked her debut  in Tamil cinema. She played the role of an Anglo-Indian girl falling in love with a rural man played by Dhanush. The film, set in the backdrop of Madurai, revolves around cockfights. It was critically acclaimed and proceeded to win six National Film Awards at the 58th National Film Awards. Speaking about her role, a reviewer from Sify said: "Debutant Taapsee is a promising find and she suits the character of an Anglo-Indian girl to the T." She returned to the Telugu film industry with "Vastadu Naa Raju" (2011), opposite Vishnu Manchu. She made a foray into Malayalam  cinema later that year, with "Doubles" (2011), opposite Mammootty and Nadiya Moidu. Paresh C Palicha of "Rediff" commented: "Taapsee Pannu as Saira Banu, whose entry into the scene becomes the bone of contention between the siblings, has nothing noteworthy to do". Pannu played a short role in her next release "Mr. Perfect" (2011). In it, she acted alongside Prabhas and Kajal Aggarwal. She starred in a high-budget film titled "Veera" (2011), opposite Ravi Teja and Kajal Aggarwal, which received moderate reviews. She was next seen in her second Tamil film "Vandhaan Vendraan", that fetched mixed reviews and did not  fare well at the box office. Her next film was Krishna Vamsi's "Mogudu" where she acted as a traditional Telugu girl opposite Gopichand and garnered critical acclaim for her performance. She worked on several Telugu films at this time including "Gundello Godari", "Daruvu", and "Shadow". In 2013, Pannu made her Hindi film debut with David Dhawan's "Chashme Baddoor", co-starring Siddharth, Rishi Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Ali Zafar. A remake of the eponymous 1981 film, it met with unanimous negative reviews but became a box-office success. Later, she was seen in the big budget action thriller "Arrambam  co-starring Ajith Kumar and Arya. She was awarded Most Enthusiastic Performer–Female Award at the 2014 Edison Awards for her performance in the film. After a year without releases, she was noted for her supporting role in Akshay Kumar in Neeraj Pandey's film Baby" (2015), as undercover agent Shabana Khan. Later, she had two Tamil releases, the horror comedy "Muni 3", opposite Raghava Lawrence and Aishwarya R. Dhanush's "Vai Raja Vai", which featured her in a special appearance. 2016–2019: Breakthrough in Hindi films. While filming for "Running Shaadi", Pannu was approached by Shoojit Sircar for the courtroom  drama "Pink". She was "curious and excited" about the subject as it had not "been dealt with head-on yet in mainstream cinema." The film, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang, followed three girls who fight a case against a politician's nephew for molestation. The film and Pannu's performance received positive reviews. Rajeev Masand noted that Pannu, along with other two ladies, "deliver natural performances as strong but emotionally vulnerable women, without a hint of affectation." With worldwide revenue of , "Pink" emerged as a commercial success. Pannu later said that the film proved to  be a turning point in her career. Pannu's first release of 2017 was the romantic comedy "Running Shaadi", where she played a Punjabi girl who helps couples in eloping to get married. The film received mixed critical reception but praised her acting. It was followed by the naval war drama "The Ghazi Attack", based on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The film was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi and performed modestly at the box-office. Pandey noticed that Pannu's seven-eight minute sequence in the role of special agent  Shabana Khan in "Baby" was well received after which he "decided to give the story an arc." Pannu reprised her role in its spin-off titled, "Naam Shabana". For the role, she trained in different forms of mixed martial arts like Kūdō and Krav Maga. Both the film and Pannu's performance met with mixed response with Sarita A. Tanwar of "Daily News and Analysis" noting that she is "fantastic in every scene" and Udita Jhunjhunwala of "Mint" felt that she is "hardly likable" in the film. Pannu subsequent roles were of a ghost in Telugu horror comedy film "Anando  Brahma" and the protagonist's girlfriend in the action-comedy "Judwaa 2". The latter, which was a reboot of the 1997 namesake film, proved to be commercial success, earning over . "Dil Juunglee" (2018), co-starring Saqib Saleem, was Pannu's first release of the year. It failed to create an impact among the critics and the audience. Her followup was Shaad Ali's sports drama "Soorma" which was based on the life of field hockey player Sandeep Singh (played by Diljit Dosanjh). Despite mixed reviews, "Soorma" became a financial success. Pannu then depicted a lawyer in Anubhav Sinha's "Mulk . Pannu said that the film presents true patriotism and nationalism without taking sides. Pannu's performance was praised with Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in" calling her one of the "strong turns" of the film; it earned her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics) nomination. After playing the role of an antagonist in the Telugu action thriller "Neevevaro", Pannu played the central role of Rumi Bagga, a free-spirited girl caught in a love triangle, in Anurag Kashyap's romantic drama "Manmarziyaan" alongside Abhishek Bachchan and Vicky Kaushal. The film premiered at 2018 Toronto International Film Festival to a positive critical  reception, including for Pannu's performance. Anupama Chopra called her performance "mercurial and mysterious and maddening": "With her cloud of red hair enveloping her, Rumi seems, continually to be a woman on a warpath." The same year, she also acted in two short films: "Baarish aur Chowmein" and "Nitishastra". 2019–present: Established actress. Pannu had a string of releases in 2019 with the first one being Sujoy Ghosh's mystery thriller "Badla", an official remake of the 2016 Spanish film The "Invisible Guest". It also marked her second collaboration with Amitabh Bachchan. She was initially offered a supporting role and  the film had a male lead. Pannu convinced the producer to have the lead role played by a female which he agreed on and offered her the role. "Badla" met with positive reviews, as did Pannu's performance as Naina Sethi, a shrewd businesswoman. In her review of the film, film critic Namrata Joshi mentioned that Pannu is "in fine form"; the film met with strong box-office results. Pannu then essayed the role of a game designer who uses a wheelchair and battles a home invasion in the psychological thriller "Game Over", directed by Ashwin Saravanan. The film was  shot simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu language. During the duration of the filming, Pannu had to be in a wheelchair for 12 hours for 25 days. The film and her performance were praised; Saibal Chatterjee said that Pannu "is never less than convincing" and "may be the primary reason why you must go out a watch this film." She next played an ISRO scientist in the space drama "Mission Mangal" which was about India's first interplanetary expedition, Mars Orbiter Mission. Pannu liked the idea of a space film with several leading ladies in it. With a global collection of  over , "Mission Mangal" proved Pannu's biggest financial success. Her final film of the year was Tushar Hiranandani's biographical film "Saand Ki Aankh", co-starring Bhumi Pednekar. Pannu portrayed the role of Prakashi Tomar who is one of the world's oldest sharpshooters for which she underwent three months of training in pistol shooting. Her role was well received with Anna M. M. Vetticad writing that both Pannu and Pednekar succeed in "delivering equally finely tuned, sensitive performances." Pannu and Pednekar received the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. Pannu's sole release of 2020 was Anubhav Sinha's  social drama "Thappad", where she played the role of Amrita, a home-maker who files for divorce after her husband slaps her. She said that the character's "righteousness, her maturity to handle every situation" made her suffocate. The film and Pannu's performance met with critical acclaim. Shubhra Gupta of "The Indian Express" noted that she "drives the film, but the effort she puts into her performance shows." Pannu was awarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and received a Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress nomination. Pannu's first releasee of 2021 was the romantic murder mystery  Haseen Dillruba opposite Vikrant Massey. The film premiered on 2 July 2021 on Netflix and emerged as the most-watched Hindi film on the platform that year. Both the film and Pannu's performance were however poorly received by critics, with Rohan Naahar from "Hindustan Times" calling it a "hot mess" and describing it as "illogical" and "ill-conceived" while adding that "Pannu’s performance as a bored housewife named Rani is all over the place". She then appeared in the Tamil-language horror comedy "Annabelle Sethupathi" opposite Vijay Sethupathi. Her final film of the year was Rashmi Rocket, a  sports drama that tells a story of an Indian track and field athlete who was subject to gender testing due to being diagnosed with hyperandrogenism. Ronak Kotecha of The Times of India commented, “Pannu once again proves her mettle. Her effort to celebrate Rashmi’s victory and endure her pain, is as real as it gets and the actress doesn’t miss the beat when it comes to making us root for her character.” The following year, Pannu starred in "Looop Lapeta", an official remake of the 1998 German film "Run Lola Run" that premiered on 4 February 2022 on  Netflix. In July 2021, she signed Telugu film "Mishan Impossible" directed by Swaroop RSJ. It is her comeback film in Telugu film industry after "Anando Brahma" in 2017. The film is slated to release on 1 April 2022.She has completed working on "Dobaaraa", her second collaboration with director Anurag Kashyap and a film based on the life of current Test and ODI captain of the India women's national cricket team, Mithali Raj titled "Shabaash Mithu". In the media. Pannu has featured in "Forbes India"'s list of Celebrity 100 in 2018 at 67th position with an estimate income of  . She was featured for a second time in 2019 ranking 68th. In 2017, she was featured in the magazine's 30 Under 30 list. She was ranked in The Times Most Desirable Women at No. 36 in 2019, at No. 23 in 2020. Pannu runs an event management company called The Wedding Factory which she manages along with her sister Shagun and friend Farah Parvaresh. In 2018, she bought the badminton franchise Pune 7 Aces which plays in the Premier Badminton League. In 2019, Pannu raised awareness about children's health, and gender parity on Twitter with hashtag #WhyTheGap. Pannu  has also served as the brand ambassador for Uber, Garnier, Nivea, Kurkure and Women's Horlicks.