Taapsee Pannu calls out trollers for rude comments on her athletic physique for Rashmi Rocket

Taapsee Pannu has released the trailer of her upcoming film ‘Rashmi Rocket’. In the film, the actress will be seen bringing forth the struggles of an athlete also shedding light on women athletes who are body-shamed and called “masculine”. Taapsee took to her Twitter account on Friday and posted a short video showing some of the many harsh and rude comments she had received from trollers over the time for her athletic physique for the upcoming film. 

Keeping her calm, the actress shut down these trolls with a strong message. “Heartfelt thank you From yours Truly. But there are many women who actually hear this daily for no fault of theirs. An ode to all the athletes who give their sweat and blood to the sport and their nation and still get to hear this,” she wrote along with the video.

On Thursday, during the virtual press conference of the film’s trailer launch, when the actress was asked about these comments calling her ‘manly’, the actress said it validated her efforts as these are the boxes that she wants to shatter through the film.

“Who defines what’s feminine and what is not? Is it just about your muscular build that you will be judged on who is a female and who is not? Do you realize that there are some hormonal imbalances that are there in certain females by default, it is not their choice? It might be a result of that they end up having the kind of physique that they have,” the 34-year-old actor said during the virtual press conference of the film’s trailer launch.

The actor said she may have taken the comment as a “compliment” because she worked extra hard to build a certain physique for the film, but it would be heartbreaking for someone going through an hormonal imbalance to hear that.

“It is their (athletes’) job to make that kind of body…That’s what they are supposed to do, build their body strong enough… Are we really asking these women to change their genetics to fit into the definition of what a female should be? Who gave you the right?” she added.

For the unversed, set in Kutch, Gujarat, sports drama, Rahsmi Rocket, stars Pannu in the title role of a gifted athlete and is directed by Akarsh Khurana, who has made Irrfan Khan’s “Karwaan”. The trailer of the film shows Rashmi being subjected to archaic gender testing that is performed on female athletes and how she faces discrimination for not being conventionally feminine.