Taapsee Pannu Discusses Bollywood's Spy-Thriller Trend and Her Upcoming Film 'Gandhari'

Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu recently expressed her thoughts on the Hindi film industry's growing fascination with the spy-thriller genre. In an interview with News X, Pannu reflected on her past experiences working in action-packed roles and shared insights into her upcoming project, Gandhari.

Pannu noted that while spy thrillers have gained immense popularity recently, she had ventured into this territory years ago. When asked about returning to the action genre after her roles in Baby (2015) and Naam Shabana (2017), she remarked, “I believe going in very interesting character action. Actually, action spy thrillers were not in fashion. Now, everybody wants to do a spy thriller. I did it so many years ago that now if I do it again it’s very weird; why are you repeating yourself? I’ve done something which was so remarkable back then, I don’t want to touch it and spoil it again. If I have to really do action thriller I was very clear I will go in some other world.”

Baby marked Pannu's Bollywood debut, where she played a spy alongside Akshay Kumar. Her brief but impactful performance earned her a standalone film, Naam Shabana, which further solidified her presence in the action-thriller genre. Since then, the Hindi film industry has seen a surge in spy films, particularly with the rise of the YRF Spy Universe, which includes popular titles and upcoming films like Alpha, a female-led spy project starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari.

Shifting focus to her upcoming release Gandhari, Pannu described the film as unique. “It's a mother's revenge for the daughter. You will see what is it about. Devashish Makhija is directing it, the one who directed Ajji and Joram. Kanika is writing and producing it. It's a Netflix original and will hopefully have successive parts if it is successful. It is an action-thriller with the heart of a mother,” Pannu shared.

In a recently released teaser for Gandhari, Pannu’s voiceover sets the tone for the film: "Kehte hain maa ki dua humesha saath chalti hai, lekin jab uski bachche par aati hai to kaali bhi wahi banti hai (It is said that a mother's blessings are always there with her children but if anyone tries to harm her child, she becomes Goddess Kaali)."

Netflix, which will stream the film, also teased the upcoming project on its social media platforms, writing, “The Hasseen writer-actor duo is back! Kanika Dhillon and Taapsee Pannu return with an action thriller. Gandhari arrives soon, only on Netflix.” The streaming platform further shared an image of Pannu alongside writer-producer Kanika Dhillon.

Directed by Devashish Makhija and produced by Kanika Dhillon, Gandhari promises to deliver a gripping mother-daughter story set against an action-thriller backdrop. The release date for the film has yet to be announced, but fans are eagerly awaiting the next chapter in Taapsee Pannu’s action-packed journey.