Taapsee Pannu opens up about early self-doubt: “Why will someone make me the heroine”

tapsee pannu

• Taapsee Pannu opened up about early career self-doubt and mental struggles
• She admitted harsh self-criticism and feeling burdened by professional failures
• Taapsee will next star in Gandhari, premiering on Netflix

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Taapsee Pannu has candidly opened up about the self-doubt and insecurities she grappled with at the beginning of her career, admitting she once questioned whether anyone would ever see her as a leading heroine.

Taapsee, in an interview with Times Now, opened up on the "beating" she gave herself to learn a bunch of things in the first few years of her career. She said, "I wish I didn’t feel like I don’t look like the biggest divas around, so mujhe koi heroine kyun banayega? But that’s not the only quality required to be a heroine. I didn’t have basic fashion sense, makeup sense, or even know what my best angle was — nothing."

The actor said that the phase took a toll on her mentally. "I wish I didn’t take such a beating to learn all this in the first few years. I learnt everything eventually, but the amount of beating I gave myself - it tired me mentally. I wish I wouldn’t have felt that way and just enjoyed the process of learning. That is one thing I really hope someone told me," the 38-year-old added.

Taapsee further highlighted the harsh self-evaluation she faced after experiencing professional challenges. She admitted to "butchering" herself daily, constantly believing she was insufficient. Taapsee said that while "a failure is not just because of you. It’s a cumulative team effort, but it is put on you," highlighting her sense of unfair burden when projects didn't succeed.

The actor was last seen in Mudassar Aziz's comedy-drama Khel Khel Mein (2024). The film also featured Akshay Kumar, Vaani Kapoor, Ammy Virk, Aditya Seal, Pragya Jaiswal and Fardeen Khan in pivotal characters.

Also read: Taapsee Pannu on restoring her 1907 Danish-Style home: "There’s a lot of history involved and we wanted to restore as much as possible”

Taapsee will next be seen in director Devashish Makhija's Gandhari, backed by writer-producer Kanika Dhillon's Katha Pictures, set to premiere on Netflix.