EXCLUSIVE | 'Blurr' actress Taapsee Pannu: 'I find this debate on original versus remake to be redundant'

Taapsee Pannu is gearing up for the release of her new film Blurr , which also marks her venture into film production. A remake of Spanish film Julia’s Eyes, it’s releasing on Zee5 on December 9. The actress spoke exclusively to Firstpost about it and lots more. Blurr is your first production. How would you describe your experience as a producer? It was like being a newcomer all over again. The perspective of seeing things on the set was very different as compared to being an actor. I think I was a very different person on the set. I got a debutante kind of feeling on the set(laughs). Being a first-time producer there was a lot of anxiety to not go wrong. There was too much at stake. There was that newcomer’s nervousness in me. Another first : You play a double role. How difficult was that, technically and as an actor? Technically, my team—my director, the DOP, the production designer—they all made it very easy for me to switch from one character to the other. Thankfully , there was not too much of a double-role playing for me to do. When you see the film you will know what I mean. So I had to do very little to make the double role look convincing. It was my technical team which did all the heavy lifting for my double role. Incidentally Blurr is another remake of a foreign film. Are we seriously running out of ideas? No, we are only latching on to goods scripts. See, I find this debate on original versus remake to be redundant. I don’t think my ego is larger than any script. If there is a good script I am not going to refrain from doing it just because someone else has done it in some other country or state or language at some point in time. My job is to pick up a good script and make sure it becomes a reality for the audience. I have problem with remakes. Every script has many interpretations. It can go anywhere. So I think the debate on originals versus remake is very shallow. Of late, you have had a plethora of releases. How do you feel about the way they were received? No one can deny the fact that you have to be ready to receive as much love as hate from the audience. Even God can’t please everyone. I am just an ordinary mortal. So I am not going get into analyzing and brooding over my releases. I know that ten years down the line when I look at the films I’ve done , I will be proud of them. I don’t know how others are going to look at them. There is nothing in my filmography I’d want to change. Some of your recent releases didn’t get an audience. Regardless of the box-office performance my recent films will be looked at kindly. I will never regret them. There are so many films in the past that didn’t do well. But they are still quoted by film historians and ordinary moviegoers. Inversely, many blockbusters from the past are today forgotten. What I’ve learnt during the past year is to not brood over the failure of some of my films. What makes me happy and proud is that my films will be relevant years from now. You remain one of Bollywood’s rare sheroes. How would you describe your journey so far in Hindi cinema? It’s been…. I don’t know how to describe it. It always becomes tricky for me to summarize my career. I’ve had some beautiful times that have given me tears of joy. There have been times when I’ve been tired and burnt out. There were times when I fought some really hard battles. I kept stumbling but pulled myself back on my feet. I just didn’t want to give up. At times I feel triumphant, that I’ve arrived. Then there are times when I feel I’ve a long way to go.It’s been a rollercoaster ride so far. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .