A firebrand who calls a spade a spade—that's Taapsee Pannu for you. But in Anubhav Sinha's Thappad, she is wonderfully understated. As the subdued Amrita who re-assesses her marriage when her husband slaps her, the actor drives home a vital point, without raising the decibel level.

When we get on a call with her, that's where we start our chat. "Amrita is too white, I am all shades of grey. She is in control [of her emotions] and lets things seep in, whereas I am impulsive. So, it was claustrophobic to play her for 30 days in a row. I was stifled because the character was not giving it back until the puja scene. I had to shed the image of a firebrand and cater to an average Indian woman who is conditioned to place others before herself," shares Pannu.