Taapsee Pannu recalls embarrassing padded bra requests in South films, calls out body-focused on sets

Taapsee Pannu spoke about the awkward demands she faced in South Indian film sets, revealing that filmmakers sometimes asked actresses to wear padded bras, and noting uncomfortable objectification of women’s bodies in song sequences. She highlighted differences in how Hindi and South films focus on body parts and shared how such instructions were relayed on set, making the experience embarrassing.

Ragini Jaiswal

February 22, 2026 / 21:35 IST

Taapsee Pannu recalls embarrassing padded bra requests in South films, calls out body-focused on sets

Taapsee Pannu recalls awkward demands on South film sets
She criticized requests for padded bras as embarrassing
Taapsee addressed objectification in South and Hindi cinema

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Actor Taapsee Pannu has opened up about some of the uncomfortable and awkward demands she experienced early in her film career, particularly during her work in South Indian cinema. Speaking candidly on a YouTube podcast with host Shubhankar Mishra, Taapsee described how directors in Tamil and Telugu films would sometimes ask female actors to wear padded bras to enhance their on-screen appearance — a request she called both embarrassing and problematic.

Taapsee, who has worked across Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi cinema, explained that it wasn’t simply the request itself that was uncomfortable, but the way it was communicated on set. She said, "South mein bhi bola jaata hai ke wear padded bra. And problem yeh ho jaati hai ke set pe ke director kisko bole yeh baat kyunki set pe ladkiyan hi ginti ki ek ya do hain. Ab woh AD (assistant director) ko bole phir AD styling team ko ya hair team ki didi ko bole, fir woh aake ladki ko bole.”

She continued: "Aur aap socho kitna embarrassing hoga ke set pe ek gaane ke shoot mein kissko beech mein uthke jana hai, aur sab wahin dekh rahe ke acha kya difference hua. Phir aata hai ke hume difference pata nahi chal raha, toh abhi wapis jaao yeh hota hai.”

The Assi star also reflected on broader patterns of body objectification in cinema, noting that South Indian films often focus visually on the navel in song sequences, while Hindi films more commonly highlight cleavage — both forms of framing that she has questioned over the years.

Also read: Taapsee Pannu talks about rift with Kangana Ranaut, says 'Her sister called me her cheap copy'