Actor · Telugu cinema
Taapsee Pannu
Taapsee Pannu movies: 12 Telugu films on file, 2010–2019. Earliest on file: Jhummandi Naadam (2010). Latest release: Game Over (14 June 2019).
- Films on file
- 12 (12 as actor)
- Years on file
- 2010–2019
- Born
- 1 August 1987 · August birthdays (Wikidata)
- Selected films on file
- Shadow, Mr. Perfect, Game Over
- Record
- Q7672815 on Wikidata
Taapsee Pannu (born Tapasee Pannu on 1 August 1987) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil films. She started out in Telugu cinema, spent her first few years working across the southern industries, and then built a career in Hindi films known for thrillers, social dramas and courtroom stories. She has won two Filmfare Awards and a Filmfare OTT Award.
Early life
Pannu was born in New Delhi to Dilmohan Singh Pannu, a retired real estate agent, and Nirmaljeet Kaur Pannu, a homemaker, and has a younger sister, Shagun. She went to Mata Jai Kaur Public School in Ashok Vihar and studied Computer Science and Engineering at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, then worked briefly as a software engineer.
Modelling
She was selected for Channel V’s 2008 talent show Get Gorgeous and became a full-time model. At the 2008 Femina Miss India contest she won the “Pantaloons Femina Miss Fresh Face” and “Safi Femina Miss Beautiful Skin” titles, and she appeared in print and television advertisements for a long list of brands. Over time she came to feel that modelling would never bring her the recognition films could, and she decided to act.
Starting out in the south
Her first film was K. Raghavendra Rao‘s Telugu musical romance Jhummandi Naadam (2010), in which she played the daughter of a US-based millionaire who comes to India to study traditional Telugu music. She received three more Telugu offers before it was even released. Her Tamil debut came in Aadukalam (2011), set in Madurai around the world of cockfighting, where she played an Anglo-Indian girl who falls in love with a village man played by Dhanush. The film was acclaimed and won six National Film Awards, and reviewers called her a promising newcomer.
A busy period followed. She appeared opposite Vishnu Manchu in Vastadu Naa Raju (2011), made her Malayalam debut in Doubles, had a small role in Mr. Perfect with Prabhas and Kajal Aggarwal, and starred in the big-budget Veera with Ravi Teja. Her work in Krishna Vamsi‘s Mogudu, opposite Gopichand, was praised by critics. She also made several other Telugu films, including Gundello Godari, Daruvu and Shadow. She has since spoken about being labelled an “unlucky charm” at this stage, as none of her films were doing well commercially.
Hindi debut and Baby
Pannu entered Hindi cinema in 2013 with David Dhawan’s comedy Chashme Baddoor, a remake of the 1981 film, co-starring Siddharth and Rishi Kapoor. It was panned by critics but did well at the box office. The same year she appeared in the Tamil action thriller Arrambam with Ajith Kumar and Nayanthara, which earned her a Filmfare nomination for Best Supporting Actress – Tamil.
After a year away, a supporting role as the undercover agent Shabana Khan in Neeraj Pandey’s spy thriller Baby (2015) moved her career forward significantly. The film succeeded both with critics and at the box office.
Success in Hindi films
Shoojit Sircar approached her for the courtroom drama Pink (2016), co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, about three young women who take a politician’s nephew to court for molestation. It was another critical and commercial success. She then established herself with a string of varied roles:
- The war drama The Ghazi Attack (2017)
- The social drama Mulk and the romance Manmarziyaan (both 2018)
- The thriller Badla and the space drama Mission Mangal (both 2019)
In the biopic Saand Ki Aankh (2019) she played the septuagenarian sharpshooter Prakashi Tomar, winning the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. Her role as a homemaker going through a divorce in Thappad (2020) won her the Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Streaming and later films
Her later work includes the streaming releases Haseen Dillruba (2021) and its sequel Phir Aayi Hasseen Dillruba (2024), Rashmi Rocket (2021) and Looop Lapeta (2022). After several films that underperformed, the comedy-drama Dunki (2023) became her highest-grossing release.
Business and personal life
Pannu co-owns the event management company The Wedding Factory and the Premier Badminton League franchise Pune 7 Aces. She is married to the former badminton player Mathias Boe.
Career on file
Taapsee Pannu appears in 12 Telugu films on file at Tollywood Desk, dated from 2010 to 2019. The earliest of them is Jhummandi Naadam (2010), and the most recent release is Game Over (2019). Measured by how many Wikipedia language editions cover them, the best-known titles here are Shadow (2013), Mr. Perfect (2011) and Game Over (2019). Other recent releases on file are Anando Brahma (2017), Dongaata (2015) and Sahasam (2013).
Brahmanandam is the most frequent co-star, sharing four films with Taapsee Pannu, followed by Kajal Aggarwal (2) and Prakash Raj (2). Music on two of them is by S. Thaman. Manchu Entertainment produced two of them, more than any other banner on file. Across these films the credits on file name 12 different directors, 13 music directors and 35 other credited actors.
Runtime is on file for 10 of them; they average 143 minutes, and the longest is Veera at 165 minutes. Five of them have a streaming (OTT) release noted on the site. 2011 is the busiest single year, with four films.
Figures come from the films on file at Tollywood Desk and change as records are added.