Actor Taapsee Pannu has been praised on social media after she won the Filmfare Critics’ Award for ‘Best Actress’ for Saand Ki Aankh along with Bhumi Pednekar on Saturday. Bollywood producer Tanuj Garg congratulated her too… but his response was flagged as sexist by many. In a tweet, he lauded Taapsee's getting the award and said, “humare Bollywood ki Ayushmann Khurrana” (Bollywood’s Ayushmann Khurrana).
While Taapsee responded courteously, she made it clear that she was enough in her own, and did not need to be compared to Ayushmann, a leading male Bollywood actor, to be validated. She said, “How about calling me Bollywood’s first Taapsee Pannu?”
What about calling me bollywood ki pehli Taapsee Pannu
— taapsee pannu (@taapsee) February 16, 2020
This response by Taapsee, who has been quite vocal about misogyny in the Hindi film industry, earned her lots of praise on social media.
SAVAGE
— Tejas Bhalerao (@tejasbhalerao) February 16, 2020
A BEFITTING REPLY
https://t.co/7tNOHXQxxx
You go gurlll! https://t.co/UNf99aGDNJ
— Aparna Jain (@Aparna) February 16, 2020
Ayushmann Khurrana is called 2nd Aamir Khan.
— Niharika (@NicelyNice77) February 17, 2020
Taapsee Pannu is called female Ayushmann Khurrana.
WTF!
Why can't people praise them the way they are only? What is the logic to draw comparisons always? https://t.co/m4ylaXy44t
THIS WOMAN IS LIT!!! YAS tell them! https://t.co/V8c2ftqMG6
— PS (@Neelaasapphire) February 17, 2020
And befitting reply is back y'all
— • अदा •♡ (@Joanneada_) February 16, 2020
Taapsee again slayed the INTERNET https://t.co/BXjFKvSXlE
This woman is born to shut other people up!
— Aayushi (@30Aayushi) February 16, 2020
What reply!
https://t.co/tq9Ngqmw7L
Taapsee has starred in multiple significant films that talk about gender, and played strong women characters in films such as Pink, Manmarziyaan, and Game Over. For the latter film, she also won the Anand Vikatan Cinema Award for Best Actress. Apart from a Filmfare, Saand Ki Aankh also won her the Best Actress (Critics) Award at the 26th Screen Awards earlier this year.
Her upcoming film, Thappad, whose trailer released on January 30 has been creating waves, with many calling it a fitting reply to Kabir Singh, the Hindi remake of Telugu Arjun Reddy. Both films became quite controversial for their glorification of toxic masculinity and misogyny; with the director Sandeep Reddy Vanga justifying intimate partner violence in an interview with Film Companion journalist Anupama Chopra.