Hero's wife didn't like me: Taapsee recalls worst reason for being replaced in a film

Taapsee Pannu said she was dropped from films at a hero's insistence and once told the hero's wife did not like her. She said the experiences, along with formulaic casting, have made her more careful about the roles she accepts.

In Short

• Taapsee Pannu recalled being dropped from films without clear reasons
• She was once told the hero's wife disliked her, calling it the worst reason
• Taapsee highlighted typecasting and repeated casting in industry roles

Actor Taapsee Pannu has had her share of films that never made it to her filmography, but what stayed with her wasn't always the rejection. It was the lack of an explanation. In a recent conversation, the actor recalled being dropped from a project at the hero's insistence and said she was never given a clear reason. On another occasion, however, she was given an explanation – and called it the “worst reason” she'd heard.

Speaking to YouTuber Nayandeep Rakshit, Taapsee said she was simply told that the male lead no longer wanted her in the film. The lack of clarity left her filling in the blanks herself.

“God knows the reason. I keep imagining the reasons,” she said. Taapsee said she could think of several possibilities, from the actor feeling insecure to wanting someone he was closer to, but none of those possibilities was ever confirmed.

“I can imagine various reasons, but I wasn’t given any solid reason. I was just told that he didn’t want me in the film because I kept asking the reason for my removal,” she recalled.

Then came the explanation she found even harder to understand. “The worst reason given to me when I was replaced was, ‘The hero’s wife doesn’t like you.’ I don’t know why she didn’t like me,” Taapsee said. She didn't reveal the identity of the actor or his wife.

Taapsee on navigating industry

The stories are part of a larger conversation Taapsee has been having about navigating an industry where actors can sometimes find themselves boxed into familiar roles. While she has spoken about being replaced, she's also become more deliberate about saying no to projects when she feels a role is too predictable.

In a recent interview with PTI, Taapsee said filmmakers often return to the same set of actors for particular kinds of roles.

“Everybody is going into their comfort zone and using tried-and-tested methods. For instance, for glamorous roles, they have a set of five actresses they can cast, and for hard-hitting, issue-based films, they have another set of five actresses to cast,” she said.

For Taapsee, being repeatedly associated with a particular kind of character can eventually make a film predictable even before the audience has watched it. That's why, she said, she's started walking away from some projects herself.

“I’ve actually started turning down films for this reason, telling makers that the audience will easily guess the ending,” she said. “So, I tell them, ‘Don’t cast me in this; it’s bad for your film’.”

She described the process as having “de-sold” herself from a few films – essentially choosing not to be the obvious casting option when she felt it would work against both her and the project.

She was most recently seen in Netflix's Gandhari.

- Ends