Boycott calls for Hindi films have become a joke, undermines audience's intelligence: Taapsee Pannu

Actor Taapsee Pannu claimed that the current social media trend asking for a boycott of Hindi movies is nothing more than a "joke" that insults the audience.

Pannu claimed she has moved past the stage of "being concerned" by social media trends. Her most recent film, "Dobaaraa," was produced by Anurag Kashyap and opened in theatres on Friday.

"One stops being worried if incidents like this (boycott calls and trolling) occur frequently. It loses its value. In one of my movies, there is a dialogue to this effect," during a press conference on Thursday, Pannu stated.

She continued, "I can't speak for others in the business, but for me and Anurag, it's become a joke. With Aamir Khan's "Laal Singh Chaddha," the practice of using hashtags to demand a boycott of a movie began. When questioned about the social media craze, Aamir expressed his sadness about the boycott demands and urged the people to see his movie.

Later, similar hashtags appeared on online sites in opposition to Akshay Kumar's "Raksha Bandhan." Additionally, several online users demanded that "Dobaaraa," a film with Pannu in the lead and directed by Kashyap, be shunned. "The audience will see a movie if they like it. They won't if they don't like it. But calling for a boycott is like insulting the intelligence of my viewers," added the actor. Rumors that "Dobaaraa" was influenced by the 2018 Spanish film "Mirage" was refuted by Pannu.

"The plot of our movie was decided in March 2018, whilst the Spain movie's announcement took place in November of the same year. 'Dobaaraa' is not a ripoff or an inspiration, "She spoke. She continued, "Unfortunately, Covid-19 struck and that delayed everything related to our movie and its distribution.

The mystery thriller centers on a woman named Antara (Pannu) who, by connecting via television during a storm that is comparable to one that occurred 25 years ago, has the chance to save the life of a 12-year-old child who witnessed a death during that storm.

She claimed that "Dobaaraa" is Kashyap's "most compelling picture" to date and that no one in Hindi cinema would dare to tackle such a subject because everyone tries to play it safe. "Dobaaraa" is co-produced by Sunir Kheterpal and Gaurav Bose's production company Athena and Ektaa Kapoor's Cult Movies, a new branch under Balaji Telefilms. The film billed as an edge-of-your-seat thriller, also features Pavail Gulati and Rahul Bhat.