Taapsee Pannu

Tapasee Pannu (born 1 August 1987), known as Taapsee Pannu, is an Indian actress who works primarily in Hindi, Telugu, and Tamil films. She has received 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 thriller 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 social drama Thappad (2020), she won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She has since starred in the streaming films Haseen Dillruba (2021), Rashmi Rocket (2021), and Looop Lapeta (2022), and had her highest-grossing release in the comedy-drama Dunki (2023).

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.

Life and early work
Taapsee Pannu was born on 1 August 1987 in New Delhi to a Jat Sikh family. Her father, Dilmohan Singh Pannu, is a retired real estate agent while her mother, Nirmaljeet Kaur Pannu, is a homemaker. Dilmohan's family, who lived in Shakti Nagar, Delhi, were targetted during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots but survived after finding refuge in their Hindu neighbours' homes. She also has a younger sister, Shagun. She did her schooling at the Mata Jai Kaur Public School in Ashok Vihar and studied Computer Science and Engineering at the Guru Tegh Bahadur Institute of Technology.

After graduating, 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 modelling as she thought that she could never gain proper recognition through modelling, but only through films, and finally decided to act.

On 23 March 2024, she married Danish badminton player Mathias Boe after eleven years of dating.

2010–2015: Early work and recognition
Pannu made her cinematic debut in 2010 with K. Raghavendra Rao's Telugu 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 received 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) alongside Prabhas and Kajal Aggarwal. She starred in a high-budget film titled Veera (2011), opposite Ravi Teja and Kajal Aggarwal, which received mixed reviews. She was next seen in her second Tamil film Vandhaan Vendraan, that also received mixed reviews from critics and did not fare well commercially. Her next film was Krishna Vamsi's Mogudu opposite Gopichand. She garnered critical acclaim for her performance. She worked on several Telugu films at this time including Gundello Godari, Daruvu, and Shadow. In subsequent years, Pannu discussed being labelled an "unlucky charm" due to all of her films failing commercially.

In 2013, Pannu made her Hindi film debut with David Dhawan's comedy 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 remerged a box-office success. Later, she was seen in the big-budget action thriller Arrambam co-starring Ajith Kumar, Nayanthara and Arya. She was awarded the Most Enthusiastic Performer – Female award at the 2014 Edison Awards, in addition to receiving a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil.

Following an absence from films for a year, she made a significant advancement in her career due to her supporting role in Neeraj Pandey's spy thriller 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.

2016–2020: Success 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 inr 1080000000, Pink emerged as a major commercial success. Pannu later said that the film proved to be a turning point in her career, and earned her the IIFA Woman of the Year award, in addition to her first nomination for the IIFA Award for Best Actress.

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 Pannu received unanimous praise for her performance. Following this, Pshe starred in 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. Pannu reprised her role in a spin-ff to her film Baby titled, Naam Shabana. 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".  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" while Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mint felt that she is "hardly likable" in. Pannu's subsequent roles were of a ghost in the 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 inr 2000000000. Despite disliking the film, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express found Pannu to be the "real surprise" among the ensemble adding that she "makes the most '' of an otherwise thinly written part.

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 legal drama 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; the film earned her a first nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics).

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 positive critical reviews, with widespread critical acclaim for Pannu's performance. Anupama Chopra called her performance "mercurial, 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.

Pannu had a string of releases in 2019, with the first being Sujoy Ghosh's psychological 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, however, Pannu convinced the producer to have the lead role played by a female which he agreed to and offered her the role. Badla met with highly positive reviews, as did Pannu's performance as Naina Sethi, a shrewd businesswoman. In her review of the film, film critic Namrata Joshi of The Hindu appreciated Pannu for being "in fine form"; the film met with strong box-office results. Pannu's performance in the film earned the Zee Cine Award for Best Actress (Critics), in addition to her second Best Actress nominations at the annual IIFA and Screen award ceremonies. 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 accepted a role in the film due to her appreciation of the idea of a space film with, "several leading ladies in it". With a global collection of over inr 2900000000, Mission Mangal proved to be one of Pannu's biggest financial successes. 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, 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 jointly received the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics). 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 widespread critical acclaim. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express noted that she "drives the film" but added that "the effort she puts into her performance shows". Pannu was awarded with the Filmfare Award for Best Actress and received her third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics). The film emerged a moderate commercial success.

2021–present: Streaming projects and Dunki
Pannu's first release of 2021 was the romantic mystery film Haseen Dillruba opposite Vikrant Massey. The film premiered on the streaming platform, Netflix and was Pannu's first of several streaming releases. It 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" along with describing it as "illogical" and "ill-conceived" and added that "Pannu's performance as a bored housewife named Rani is all over the place". Shubhra Gupta from The Indian Express also criticised her role in the film stating, "Pannu’s delivery is exactly the same in her films: only the costumes change". Despite this, her performance in the film earned her a fourth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics). Pannu's role in the Tamil-language comedy horror Annabelle Sethupathi opposite Vijay Sethupathi generally went unnoticed. 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.” She received her second nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film. Pannu's third and final release of 2021 was the Telugu film Mishan Impossible directed by Swaroop RSJ. The film marked her comeback in Telugu films after Anando Brahma in 2017.

In 2022, Pannu starred in the comedy thriller Looop Lapeta, an official remake of the 1998 German film Run Lola Run. It released on Netflix. The film, and Pannu's performance, received critical acclaim, earning her the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Actress in a Web Original Film. She next starred in the film directed by Srijit Mukherji, based on the life of former Test and ODI captain of the India women's national cricket team, Mithali Raj, titled Shabaash Mithu. Upon release, the film was panned by critics and audiences, and emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office; however Pannu's performance received praise, earning her a fifth nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress (Critics). She then starred in the sci-fi mystery film Dobaaraa, which was a remake of 2018 Spanish thriller Mirage (2018), her second collaboration with director Anurag Kashyap The film and Pannu's performance received positive reviews; however, it emerged as a commercial failure at the box-office. In December, her first production venture Blurr was released online on Zee5. A remake of the Spanish thriller film Julia's Eyes (2010), the film marked Pannu's third film to be remade from a Spanish original, after Badla (2019) and Dobaara (2022). She then starred in the romantic comedy Tadka alongside Nana Patekar, Shriya Saran and Ali Fazal. Despite disliking the film, Archika Khurana of The Times of India thought Pannu provided "solid support" and found both her and Fazal to be "underutilized" but criticised her "off-key dubbing".

In 2023, Pannu appeared in Rajkumar Hirani’s comedy-drama Dunki opposite Shah Rukh Khan as Manu, a Punjabi woman with aspirations of travelling to England. Upon being signed for the film, she expressed her admiration for Khan and mentioned that it has been a "dream" to work with him. Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times described Pannu’s performance as "natural" and added that "in the emotionally charged scenes, Pannu showcases a strong grip on her character, and in the funny ones, too, she holds her ground," but was disappointed with her chemistry with Khan. The film emerged a commercial success at the box-office, becoming Pannu's highest grosser. Dunki earned her a third nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.

Pannu will portray the role of a police officer in Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan and reprise her role as Rani in Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba. She will also reunite with Kumar in the comedy, Khel Khel Mein and is set to appear in Barath Neelakantan's sci-fi project titled, Alien.

Other works and public image
Raghuvendra Singh of Filmfare says Pannu is "one of the most versatile actresses in the industry". Verve's Zaral Shah finds her to be "frank and forthright". Aditi Bhimjyani of Vogue noted,

"Pannu has been busy making her unforgettable mark via her filmography of strong leading roles." Femina's Shraddha Kamdar calls her a "self-made artiste" who is "unafraid of challenges". Sukanya Verma featured her in Rediff's list of the 'Best Bollywood Actresses' in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

In 2017, Pannu featured in Forbes India's 30 Under 30 list. In 2018, she featured in Forbes India's list of Celebrity 100 at 67th position with an estimate income of inr 154800000. She was featured for a second time in 2019, ranking 68th. Pannu has frequently featured in Times' 50 Most Desirable Women list, she ranked 36th in 2019, and 23rd in 2020. Pannu is an active celebrity endorser for Uber, Garnier, Nivea, Kurkure and Women's Horlicks.

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. In December 2022, she attended NDTV's show "Jai Jawan" and tested her mettle.