Naam Shabana: What makes Taapsee Pannu feel intimidated by Akshay Kumar?

Khiladi Akshay Kumar continues to ace his game as the action star - Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu has said it is scary to do an action movie alongside Akshay Kumar as he is a force to be reckoned with in that genre.

Taapsee will be seen in the lead role in Naam Shabana, which also features Akshay in an extended cameo. “I was getting trained by people Akshay had assigned for me. They were task masters. He was not present during the training period so I don’t know how he is on ground. But he sets the expectation meter very high and it is very intimidating to do an action film where he also is a part of the film as people expect that level of action,” Taapsee said.

She said filming the Shivam Nair-directed movie was definitely a challenge but her training helped her a lot while performing the action sequences.

This is the second time Taapsee has worked with Akshay, they have previously done “Baby” together and she is all praise for the Airlift star.

“He is the calmest person I have ever met. He doesn’t get angry. He is extremely calm in contrary to the image that he has on screen of an action star. One thing which is common between him and his films is that his sense of humour. The kind of films he chooses sets the standard high for actors. I look up to to the lifestyle he follows, the way he conducts himself and the causes he supports are really good,” she says.

Taapsee also said having Akshay on board is going to help the film grab eyeballs. “The presence of Akshay in both the trailer and the film, helps as he is a big star. His presence be it on the poster, in the trailer or the film is going to benefit.”

Produced by Neeraj Pandey, the film is a spin-off from the 2015 film Baby with Taapsee reprising her role as Shabana.

Manoj Bajpayee, Anupam Kher and Prithviraj Sukumaran are in the supporting roles. The film is set for March 31 release.