ACTRESS Taapsee Pannu, who is set to join a panel discussion at the 14th edition of the Jagran Film Festival,has said that cinema becomes interesting when women characters are portrayed to be flawed, complicated, and unapologetically themselves. The actress will be attending the From Pink to Power: Breaking Stereo types Through Cinema panel at Jagran Film Festival. The festival celebrates the power of cinema to challenge perspectives, spark conversations and reflect the changing world, and continues to bring to get her some of the most compelling voices from Indian cinema. Talking about the special session, Taapsee Pannu said,“Forme,breaking stereotypes has always started with being willing to take a risk and play a woman who may not fit into the version of her that people expect to see.” The session will delveinto how cinema can question deeply rooted stereotypes, reshape the way women are represented on screen and encourage audiences to look beyond familiar narratives. Taapsee will reflect on her own journey, the choices that have shaped her career, the risks that come with breaking away from the conventional mould and the responsibility that comes with using cinema as a tool to question, provoke and inspire. “Films like Pink and Thappad became part of a larger conversation because the characters were not created to simply fit a familiar mould.

 

I have always believed that cinema becomes more interesting when we allow women to be flawed, complicated, ambitious and unapologetically themselves. I am looking forward to discussing these choices and the conversations they have sparked at Jagran Film Festival”, she added. Meanwhile, Taapsee Pannu has previously spoken candidly about the ageism that continues to shape opportunities for women in Bollywood. In a recent conversation, the actor pointed out the frustratingly narrow window available to actresses. She said that women often enter the Hindi film industry in their mid-twenties, spend their first few years struggling to find substantial roles and, by the time they finally establish themselves, are already being told they are “not young enough” for certain parts - particularly romantic comedies. Taapsee also questioned why the same yardstick is rarely applied to male actors. According to her, even when a character does not necessarily require a younger actor, filmmakers continue to favour youth when casting women. “Ageism is a big thing,” she observed, highlighting a disparity that has long been visible in mainstream Hindi cinema. Interestingly, Taapsee drew a comparison with her own experiences in the South Indian film industries, where she said being paired with a relatively senior male actor could also affect how younger actors perceived her. She noted that there was a perception that an actress's career or pairing options somehow changed after working opposite an establishedsenior star.But, as she pointed out, such a taboo would hardly be applied to a male superstar. Jagran Film Festival is set to return to New Delhi from August 20 to August 23, 2026 at the Dr Ambedkar International Centre.