Mumbai, August 21
Actor Taapsee Pannu on Wednesday spoke about why she believes in keeping her personal life "strictly personal", her hard work to make a mark in movies and her experience of the Paris Olympics.
She also spoke about her life with former Danish badminton star Mathias Boe, who was coach of India's leading badminton pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
Known for her captivating roles in films like Haseen Dillruba and Dunki, Taapsee opened up about her recent wedding.
In an interview with ANI, she also narrated why she took the decision to keep the wedding private.
The couple's nuptials, reportedly held in March in the picturesque city of Udaipur, were a blend of Sikh and Christian traditions, reflecting their diverse backgrounds. The ceremony, attended by a select circle of close friends and family, was marked by a fusion of rituals and heartfelt moments.
For months, speculation about the details of their wedding circulated, but Taapsee and Mathias chose to keep the event away from the public eye. The actress maintains a certain level of privacy around her personal life and elaborated on the decision to keep the wedding private.
"Actually, I'm still hesitant in certain ways. I don't like to milk a headline out of it. It's been like that I've seen with actresses: once you are with someone, regardless of how big or small the personality of that someone is, that starts overtaking your headlines, like headlines regarding my work," she said.
Taapsee recalled how her one-page interview about her work was overshadowed by a headline about whom she is dating.
"Actually, it happened with me. So, when I spoke about him very casually, it became the headline of a one-page interview that I gave about my work. Imagine someone would just come into the industry, and have just done her first film. My second film, Baby, was about to release, and I had heartfully given an interview talking about how my first movie became a success, how I got a small but powerful role in this film, and how I'm trying to transition from South to Hindi cinema. I spoke about so much, but all they could carry as a headline was his name just because I'm seeing this person."
"I don't even know if they know exactly who he is. But it was just probably of interest: 'ki ye kisko date kar rahi hai? Iska chakkar kiske sath chal raha hai?' So, that kind of thing didn't make me feel nice. Because I've worked really hard to be where I am, to earn the name that I have. It cannot be overtaken by anybody else who is not really responsible for that, right? So, it's my personal life and it will be strictly personal, and this is my profession. I was strictly professional," she added.
Taapsee also said that it is an open fact that she and Mathias Boe have been seeing each other for almost a decade. "We are married now, but we were seeing each other for 10 years before we got married. And it was pretty much the same year when I debuted in the film industry."
Despite her desire for privacy, leaked footage from the wedding surfaced online just a few days after the event.
The videos offered glimpses of Taapsee in a stunning red bridal suit, dancing with her sister and friends. However, the actress remains wary of the public scrutiny that often accompanies such personal moments.
"You will be thinking so much before releasing those pictures because you know you're putting your personal life out for butchering almost. And I was fully right. Unfortunately, a few videos of my wedding were leaked a few weeks later," she said.
On the comments she received about the leaked videos, Taapsee said, "I'm like, you know, that actually validated my belief that I should not be putting out my personal life. Because the kind of things that they were writing there--'Oh, what is this? She's overacting at her wedding. Why is she not covering her head? Why is she...' The kind of scrutiny and the liberty people take to comment on what I should be doing in my personal life is not something I'm okay with."
"I know my professional life is courtesy of them in a lot of ways. They are the audience and they need to have an opinion, should have an opinion about my work, but not regarding my personal life. That I will not--I can't say I won't let them, but I will not at least put that on the table for them," the Pink actor said.
Taapsee also touched on her passion for sports, stating that her visit to the Olympics was both a personal and professional choice.
Accompanying Mathias Boe, who was in Paris as a coach, Taapsee had the opportunity to witness the Olympic atmosphere.
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Reflecting on her time in Paris, Taapsee describes the sweltering heat she experienced: "I was privileged to have AC there because, fortunately or unfortunately, I was not in the Olympic Village. I was staying in a hotel. But it was really hot. It was excruciatingly hot."
The actress also mentioned she wanted to see the Olympics live this year due to her husband Mathias, who recently announced his retirement from coaching following the Paris Olympics 2024.
"This might be the last Olympics that Mathias is a part of. So, that's why I was like, okay, I could never go and see him play because I didn't want to. Because it was very stressful to see him play live. All the years we were together, I never saw him really, apart from I went only for like 2-3 Super Series tournaments but not really the major ones because it was very stressful to watch him play. Every point counts there and it was too fast and stressful for me to watch," she said."So I thought, okay, this is the last time and this time he's the coach, he's not the player, so it's relatively less stressful and this is the last opportunity I must seize. So, I went this time," she added.
Taapsee also shared that she has always been into sports, from track events to badminton and squash, so watching the Olympics live was a moment where she could feel more connected to the athletes who were representing India on the international platform.