Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 26: Actress Taapsee Pannu on Tuesday asked the media to stop repeatedly questioning her about her long-running differences with actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut, saying the controversy would have ended long ago if reporters had stopped bringing it up.

Taapsee was speaking to reporters at the trailer preview of her upcoming Netflix film Gandhari in Mumbai when she was asked about Kangana and their renewed war of words.

"Aap khatam kyun nahi hone dete yeh baat? Koi question puchna hum dono se band karega jab yeh wala, toh yeh issue bhi khatam ho jayega," Taapsee said, asking why the issue was not being allowed to end.

She suggested that the continued questions themselves were keeping the controversy alive.

"Aap sab logon ko maza aa raha hai yeh sab dekh ke, isiliye wahi sawaal puch rahe hain," she said, adding that if the media genuinely wanted the matter to end, it should stop asking the same questions about the two actors.

Taapsee also questioned why such questions were repeatedly directed at two women. "Main poochna chahungi har baar aadmi hi kyun aisa question poochhta hai aurton ko," she said, according to reports from the event.

The latest exchange followed remarks Taapsee made about her differences with Kangana during a recent interview. Taapsee said she had never met Kangana, either before or after their public disagreements began.

She said their respective views and ways of speaking reflected their individual upbringings and personalities, adding that people could decide for themselves what those differences indicated.

Kangana subsequently reacted on Instagram, calling Taapsee a "sasti copy" and accusing her of ridiculing Kangana's upbringing and parents. The post was later deleted, according to reports.

Kangana also criticised Taapsee's upcoming film, referring to it as a "B-grade film" in her social media remarks. Taapsee later appeared to respond with a cryptic "Hence, proved" post, according to reports.

The public friction between Taapsee and Kangana dates back to 2019. It intensified after Taapsee praised the trailer of Kangana's film Judgementall Hai Kya without mentioning Kangana by name.

Kangana's sister and then-manager Rangoli Chandel subsequently described Taapsee as a "sasti copy" of Kangana. Taapsee responded at the time by arguing that Kangana did not have a "copyright" over curly hair or outspoken opinions.

Their differences later became part of wider debates surrounding nepotism, the outsider-insider divide in Bollywood and Kangana's repeated criticism of the industry's so-called "movie mafia". The two have occasionally exchanged public remarks since then.

The latest controversy surfaced as Taapsee promotes Gandhari, an action thriller in which she plays a mother who takes on a dangerous mission to protect her child.

The film is directed by Devashish Makhija and written and produced by Kanika Dhillon. It also stars Ishwak Singh, Swastika Mukherjee, Chhaya Kadam, Mita Vashisht and Jatin Sarna.

Taapsee's response at the event indicated that she would rather shift attention towards her film than continue discussing her differences with Kangana.

The actor maintained that if questions about the feud stopped, the controversy itself would eventually disappear.