Taapsee Pannu on working with Sudhir Mishra: 'Took it as a challenge to not disappoint him'

Taapsee Pannu, fresh off working with Anurag Kashyap in Dobaaraa, is now working with Sudhir Mishra on his next film, a short. The actress, in an exclusive interview with Firstpost, spoke to Subhash K Jha about working with the filmmaker, how she took it as a challenge to not disappoint him, and his style of working.

Sudhir Mishra is full of praise for you.

I am glad Sudhir Sir has good things to say about me. When you know that a filmmaker comes from an incredibly acclaimed body of work, someone who has seen it all, from the time he co-wrote Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, followed by a slew of eulogized directorials, to impress him was something that is bound to play in an actor’s mind, at least it stayed in my mind.

Was it a challenge for you as an actor?

I took it up as a challenge, if not to impress, at least to not disappoint him. Sudhir Sir has worked with amazingly talented actors for the last two decades. Living up to what he expects from his actors was a huge responsibility for me. Whenever I work with directors of a certain repute, like Anurag Kashyap and Sudhir Mishra, who have worked with the best talent, I am on my guard.

Why this trepidation?

You have to understand I am not a trained actor. I go only by instinct. So there is always that inherent misgiving in my subconscious: why would these directors even consider me for their projects? So to me, if Sudhir Sir appreciates my work, it is very gratifying.

What was it like working with him?

I was ready to be a sponge, willing to absorb whatever instruction and guidance he provided me. His experience of decades is invaluable. When do I get to sit and talk to a filmmaker who has seen so many decades of changes? I looked for opportunities to sit and chat with him about the changes in cinema over the years.

Were the two of you compatible from the first day of shooting?

He has a spontaneous approach to acting which works for me, because I don’t prep too much before facing the camera. I am never sure as to how EXACTLY I am going to perform. I leave it to instinct. If I prepare too much, I get mechanical on camera. I come across very robotic if I am rehearsed. Sudhir Sir changes shots on the spot. I like working with such directors. I enjoy the process of coming up with scenes spontaneously on the sets. I am like a child discovering a new toy.

Anubhav Sinha is the producer of this short film. Happy to be reunited after Thappad?

It feels as though Anubhav Sir and I have been connected since we did Mulk together. We are constantly trying to find projects to work together. Before Mulk too, we were working on something else, which didn’t work out. Even before Mulk was released, we were already planning Thappad. Then even before Thappad released, we were already bouncing ideas to one another. There is never break in our collaboration. Anubhav Sir is someone I really look up to. I wait for him to offer me something. I can’t wait to see what he offers me next.

How different is it shooting for a short film as compared with a full length feature?

Actually, the primary difference is in the number of shooting days. Also, there is less time and space to convey more emotions ,especially the sub-textual emotions which in a full-length feature, we have a lot more opportunity to be shown. In a short film, you cannot reiterate emotions, so you have to be very careful as to which of the scenes and emotions are highlighted because you won’t get a second chance to correct them in a short film.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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