'Pink' actress Taapsee Pannu finally finds a home in Mumbai

Taapsee PannuEk ghar ke liye mujhe dar dar bhatakna padardquo says Taapsee Pannu when we compliment her on the deacutecor of her Andheri home She echoes the thoughts of every lsquosinglersquo media professional who has to find a flat on rent in the city She has been living in the same house for the last two years since she first landed here It turns out her woes werenrsquot any different from that of less starry girlsProdded about her harrowing househunting experience she jokes about the questions potential landlords posed to her one of which was lsquoHow will you pay the rent if you donrsquot get moviesrsquo ldquoEven my parents donrsquot ask me that I wanted to scream my head off and tell them even if I donrsquot work everyday for a whole year I have made enough money to afford the rent For actors it is impossible to get a rented flat here When you are in front of the camera you canrsquot even hide your identity Initially when I got this house I had to approach the landlord via friends and family The owner was fine but the society raised issues My mother had to move in with me for the first six months and then visit me frequently Her presence is the stamp of legitimacy and also shows me in a lsquohomelyrsquo lightrdquo she saysBasic expectationsOn her expectations from her first house Taapsee says ldquoThey were basic I have lived in Delhi all my life All I wanted was a balcony and some open space I went all over the city for almost a month to get this house From running to the police station to getting the formal paperwork done it is a tiresome process I donrsquot have the energy to do it all over againrdquoSo have her woes finally ended ldquoAlmost Maybe buying a house couldrsquove been equally draining Thankfully I knew the person from whom I bought the house he is a film production designer To convince someone that actors donrsquot always do weird or illegal stuff in your house is tough My new house is in Oshiwara and I will get possession this yearendrdquo she addsDisturbing mindsetShe points out that the hypocritical mindset is disturbing ldquoPeople have preconceived notions about single women who are actresses I donrsquot drink or smoke I go to sleep by 11 pm These are my choices But no one should have to apologise for his or her way of liferdquo she says She adds a couple next door always fight loudly but no one takes objection to them because they are lsquomarriedrsquo ldquoParineeti Chopra Arijit Singh and Kausar Munir used to stay in the same building People are okay with paying 500 bucks on our films or on Arijitrsquos shows but renting out their homes to us is risky This dual standard is depressingrdquo she says