'Women should be flawed, complicated': Taapsee Pannu on breaking stereotypes through cinema

Taapsee Pannu. Pic/Yogen Shah

Actress Taapsee Pannu, who is set to join a panel discussion at the 14th edition of the Jagran Film Festival, has said that cinema becomes interesting when women characters are portrayed to be flawed, complicated, and unapologetically themselves.

The actress will be attending the ‘From Pink to Power: Breaking Stereotypes Through Cinema' panel at Jagran Film Festival, which is the World's Largest Travelling Film Festival. The festival celebrates the power of cinema to challenge perspectives, spark conversations and reflect the changing world, and continues to bring together some of the most compelling voices from Indian cinema.

Talking about the special session, Taapsee Pannu said in a statement, "For me, breaking stereotypes has always started with being willing to take a risk and play a woman who may not fit into the version of her that people expect to see".

The session will delve into how cinema can question deeply rooted stereotypes, reshape the way women are represented on screen and encourage audiences to look beyond familiar narratives. Taapsee will reflect on her own journey, the choices that have shaped her career, the risks that come with breaking away from the conventional mould and the responsibility that comes with using cinema as a tool to question, provoke and inspire.

"Films like ‘Pink' and ‘Thappad' became part of a larger conversation because the characters were not created to simply fit a familiar mould. I have always believed that cinema becomes more interesting when we allow women to be flawed, complicated, ambitious and unapologetically themselves. I am looking forward to discussing these choices and the conversations they have sparked at Jagran Film Festival", she added.

Jagran Film Festival is set to return to New Delhi from August 20 to August 23, 2026 at the Dr. Ambedkar International Centre.

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