Taapsee Pannu calls out industry ageism, revealing how acting with older South stars backfired and why she didn’t fit Bollywood’s idea of a romantic heroine.
Age gap casting and double standards in cinema have long dictated the career arcs of female actors, often dictating who gets to play romantic leads and for how long.
Taapsee Pannu recently shed light on this harsh reality during a candid conversation with Filmfare. When asked about what she looks for in a script today compared to what she sought at 25, the Baby actress opened up about how ageism and rigid industry perceptions cost her romantic roles early in her journey.
Reflecting on her early years down South, Taapsee recalled taking on major projects opposite veteran superstars. “One unfair thing happened to me early in my career. I took on big films in the South, often opposite heroes more than twice my age,” she shared.
However, doing those high-profile roles unexpectedly came back to haunt her when she tried to transition into lighter genres with peers closer to her generation.
She revealed, “But when I became established, younger heroes, who were still older than me, refused to work with me because I had acted opposite older men. So, I lost out on rom-coms.”
Hoping for a fresh slate when moving to Bollywood, Taapsee entered Hindi cinema in her mid-twenties with the expectation that solid box-office success would open doors to conventional romantic roles. Instead, she was met with another wall built on gendered age expectations.
“When I entered Hindi films at 24 or 25, I thought a few hits would establish me and open doors to romantic roles. But by then, I had turned 30 and was considered too old. They wanted 21-year-olds,” she pointed out.
To make matters more frustrating, her choice to take on intense, character-driven narratives further boxed her in.
“Having played strong women, I apparently didn’t fit their idea of a romantic heroine either. Imagine being told you’re too old to romance heroes ten years your senior,” she added.
Further, on being asked whether she seeks validation at this point in her career, Taapsee wondered aloud how long she was expected to justify that a film made on a budget of 10 crores should be called a blockbuster if it earned 25 crores at the box office.
She shared that whenever she traveled, people would walk up to her and thank her for doing certain films. The actress described how moving it was when audiences cried and hugged her because they felt they had seen themselves on screen. She recalled someone telling her, “My daughter started playing cricket after watching Shabaash Mithu,” and said that such moments felt wonderful. Over time, these experiences began to change her outlook.
The actress added that she realized she no longer cared whether anyone validated her or not, because the impact her work had on people mattered far more.
Unbothered by rigid age norms, Taapsee continues to forge her own path, prioritizing substance over stereotypes and choosing author-backed roles. The actress was last seen in the Netflix film Gandhari.
