Working with Amitabh Bachchan was an unsettling experience for Taapsee

By Subhash K. Jha -

September 14, 2016 - 10:49 AM IST

In Aniruddh Roy Choudhury's eagerly awaited Pink, Taapsee got the chance to work with the mighty Amitabh Bachchan.

Working with Amitabh Bachchan was an unsettling experience for Taapsee

And Taapsee says it was an experience of a lifetime. "I remember on the night before I was to shoot with him on the first day, I kept convincing myself that I had to act normal and be professional with THAT LEGEND. The next morning my scene with Mr Bachchan was luckily very simple. I had to lie on the couch sleeping while he spoke to someone behind me. I fidgeted so much; my eyes kept blinking…the easiest shot became the most difficult shot in the film."

What made it even more challenging was the fact that Taapsee had to play the traumatized sexually violated girl without hysteria or melodrama. "From the start Shoojit Sir (Sircar) and my director Aniruddh Roy Choudhary were clear that my character would NOT SHED A SINGLE TEAR, no matter how much violation and humiliation she suffered. That she would keep it all pent up inside her right till the end. Even in the climactic courtroom scene when the Judge announces his verdict, I was not allowed the comfort of tears."

Holding back the emotions, says Taapsee, worked out for the best. "The impact of showing minimal emotions is chilling. We in Indian cinema don't like to hold back emotions. We like to show all of it coming out in a flow. I realized while shooting in Pink there is much virtue in restrain."

Restrain was also extended to her look in Pink. "This is the first film I've done with absolutely no makeup. And believe me, it was liberating. I've always felt burdened with the war paint that we girls are required to put on for the camera. I don't use any makeup in real life. I don't even know how to apply eyeliner on my own. In many ways the character I play in Pink is closest to who I am in real life, though luckily I've never gone through what my character has to suffer in the film."

The film's title Pink is a colour associated with femininity. Isn't that a bit of stereotyping? "On the contrary," says Taapsee. "Why does pink have to be the colour of delicacy? We've used it as a colour of strength and solidarity."

Those who have seen Taapsee's work in Pink are already predicting awards for the actress.

"Ah, we shall see about that! This is what people said to me after Baby. But I didn't even get nominated in the 'action' categories although most critics, including you, said you had never seen an Indian actress perform such stunts. Other actresses who did practically nothing except flail their limbs got nominated that year. But it's okay. What has to happen will happen."