South goes North

Taapsee Pannu could be the next big thing in Bollywood

It is not typical of south India to distract an MBA hopeful from an entrance exam. But in Taapsee Pannu’s case, it made a happy exception. Seven years ago, when the young engineer-turned-model from Delhi stepped into the region’s film industry, she spoke not a word of the local languages and harboured wary ambitions. She hedged her bets, juggling movie scripts with CAT preparation books. After the buzz around early releases including Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam (2010) and Tamil film Aadukalam (2011), however, the business of cinema became her main calling. 

Pannu has since broken into Hindi films, finding critical acclaim