ABP Ideas Of India: Actor Taapsee Pannu had an unfiltered and refreshing conversation with author, columnist and screenwriter Chetan Bhagat as they discussed gender politics, the idea behind an ‘Alpha female’, the role of perceptions and the impact of it on cinema, at ABP Network’s Ideas Of India Summit that held in Mumbai on Friday. 


The topic of the discussion was 'The Alpha Women | Blurring Borders: Rise of the Pan-Indian Actor'.


Taapsee began the conversation expressing her happiness on the use of the relatively new term, ‘Alpha female’, and said she believed her to be a woman who is not only successful but a leader in her own right. 


Asked if she thought the term was intimidating, Taapsee said it is only intimidating to those who are not secure even in their own pedestals since in her opinion, an Alpha female “is so attractive that it is intimidating.”






Chetan Bhagat took the conversation forward sharing an anecdote from his banking days when a female colleague had called up home to inform about a bonus only to hear disappointment — her mother sounded worried that she might not find a suitable husband now. Taapsee then said how success for women is somehow always seen as the bonus, an added thing, while it is a given for the man. 


Highlighting the need to be self-reliant, Taapsee remarked how her journey of success began from the idea of being financially independent. The need to not be dependent on someone, an aspect that often is reflected in the choice of characters she plays, and that is what counts as markers of success for her, personally and professionally. 


Taapsee also mentioned a few points on gender politics and how an equilibrium needs to be brought in. Using the analogy of a bicycle, she went on to exemplify how both the male and the female need to balance each other out to be at par. 


Asked why she doesn’t have security around her as a celebrity, she remarked: “I can take care of my own body.”


A Good Film Draws Audiences


While the conversation inevitably steered on to the recently released ‘The Kashmir Files’, Taapsee said what a film like this, releasing after a pandemic, highlights is that the audience will watch a movie if they find it good. While the film does have contradictory opinions, it is a choice people consciously make and the audience should be allowed to do that, she said.


Speaking further on gender politics in cinema and Bollywood per se, she talked about how the cliches associated with terms such as ‘girl boss’ make it harder for women to sustain in what continues to be a man’s world. Phrases such as ‘who wears the pants’ are misogynistic and need to be done away with for a more equitable society, she said.


Do these concepts affect her? 


Taapsee said she chooses not to take herself seriously, she rather takes her work seriously and believes that it is what makes a difference. 


‘Women Need To Break The Chain’


Stating how generations of cliched thoughts often affect how a woman is perceived, she stressed on the need to break this chain of the burden of compliance. Women, according to her, need to be given the liberty to make a choice and manoeuver both their personal and professional lives. She said: “Our lives are governed by the perception of people and we are stuck as females.”


This plays out in ideas of a woman settling in — a term that Chetan Bhagat compared to the scientific process of sedimentation, something that is the exact opposite of growth where homely becomes a euphemism for submissiveness. To this, Tapsee said nonchalantly that her plans to settle in shall be independent of her career choices.


Tapsee continued how settling in for her meant holding enough of your own — the gravitas of your stature that settles down.


Role Of Social Media


While the conversation moved ahead, the role of social media was discussed with an emphasis on how visual mediums like Instagram often influence young minds who then aspire to achieve a perceived perfection. When asked how she perceives this posting of perfection, she opined that for a change to happen there needs to be a conscious choice without blaming it on a person/actor for wanting to seek validation for their efforts. 


“Why is the onus of doing right by society on the actress?”


Her question led to a discussion on how a person’s preferences and likings are varied and subjective and the need is to work on your perceptions. 


Asked by an audience member if she considered herself an Alpha female in all aspects of her life, including her social settings, she said the process was organic to the person she is and her conscious decision-making. Asked if political ideologies have affected Bollywood, she said it never affected film collections, and that the ground reality is different from a virtual facade.


The discussion ended with the subsequent question of pay parity and the ushering of a change with regard to women-centric films. She said how the audience perception regarding a movie decides its future and while audiences still look up to an aspirational hero, women-centric films still have to wait for the word-of-the-mouth, beyond the weekend collection to validate their worth. 


She ended the conversation on a hopeful note, saying how a change in audience perception and the rise of OTT platforms have allowed a wider scope for women to be at the forefront, be it in the stories or as characters that the actors play.


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