Sep 03, 2026 7:00pm IST
Taapsee Pannu on Emotional Roles and Seeking Therapy after ‘Pink’: ‘I Don’t Have a Very Healthy Method’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Taapsee Pannu opens up about the emotionally demanding process of playing Bani in “Gandhari,” admitting that the method she uses to emote grief on screen is not necessarily healthy. The actor reveals that she often convinces herself that the painful events experienced by her characters happened to her in real life, or she might start imitating someone else’s performance of a similar emotion instead of accessing the feeling from within.
“I don’t have a very healthy method. Unfortunately, it’s the only method I know,” Taapsee explains that she has followed the same process for films that have taken an emotional toll on her. Rather than relying on specific acting techniques or triggers, she mentally puts herself in the character’s situation and imagines losing someone close to her.
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Taapsee admits she is not a trained actor and has never learnt specific “switches” that allow her to immediately access a particular emotion. For her, believing that the tragedy has actually happened to her helps her deliver what she considers a more authentic performance. “I psych myself out into believing that whatever is happening to my character has happened to me. I am not a trained actor, so I don’t know any trigger points that I can press to start performing a certain way. I have used this method and it has worked for me on screen. On a personal level, it has left me with scars. Said scars cannot heal entirely,” she explains.
Asked if she sought therapy to help her let go of Bani after filming, Taapsee reveals that she has been using professional help while working on mentally and emotionally draining roles. Over time, she has learnt how to manage the aftermath of roles better. “I have been following this since ‘Pink’ and have approached mentally draining stuff in a similar way. I did seek help in the beginning, to understand how to get out of this. Now I know. I have developed hacks to unwind mentally.”
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She further explains, “I cannot heal 100 percent. It will change me somewhere as a human being. It has already changed me at some level. But it is something that I can live with. It is not damaging. I have started the unlearning processes bit by bit while seeking help and understanding myself.”
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