Mission Mangal: Did Taapsee Pannu Just Take Credit For Giving Akshay Kumar His Biggest Opener?

Mission Mangal, starring 5 female women as central characters, has become the male protagonist, Akshay Kumar’s biggest opener till date! Well this was a feat that most thought impossible; but here are Vidya Balan, Taapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari, Sonakshi Sinha and Nithya Menon, who have certainly shut all nay sayers.

And now in an exclusive interview to Pinkvilla; Taapsee Pannu has been quoted quipping that they can proudly boast about giving Akshay the biggest opener of his career. The Naam Shabana actress said, “People keep saying that does it take an Akshay Kumar to present a female driven film or a film where women have pivotal roles. We can also boast and say that we women together gave Akshay sir his biggest opener. We are a proud to be part of this film that’s opened so huge.”

On a more serious note, Pannu further said, “It’s a really good sign that people have been so receptive of a film that not only has big names attached to it but also has good content. We have always been seeing thunderous openings for movies that only had pure commercial masala elements but this is like a big step towards the direction where films that are heavy on content are also making a big opening. Of course, it has to be with the right names attached to it. For me also, it’s a huge opening. It’s the biggest opening for all of us, be it Akshay sir, Vidya, me, Sonakshi, Nithya, Kirti or Sharman. That makes it special and we are very proud of it.”

Hoping for the narrative of the male dominated society to change with the success of a big banner film like Mission Mangal; which was dominated by female actors, Taapsee concluded saying, “I hope Mission Mangal‘s success gives confidence to a lot of men that they think that what matters is not how many minutes you have in the film but how you fit in that role. It should be substantial for you to be part of the film so that without you, the film is incomplete. That should be the criteria for the films. But not how many dialogues you have or what’s your screen time. If the film is good, everyone is good. If it’s not, then the blame game starts. We all, as actors, should have the confidence and security to love the script first be content with our role without seeing the screen space much honestly.”

Android & IOS users, download our mobile app for faster than ever Bollywood & Box Office updates!