Writer Kanika Dhillon and actress Taapsee Pannu reunited for the action thriller Gandhari, which premiered in September on Netflix. Kanika said, "Taapsee as a person is also unpredictable so there's always something new to explore." The duo, who are known as risk-takers, got much love from the audience for this film.
Writer Kanika Dhillon has frequently collaborated with actress Taapsee Pannu on different projects. After Manmarziyaan, the Haseen Dillruba franchise and more, the duo reunited for the action thriller Gandhari. Featuring Taapsee in a lead role, the movie premiered in September on Netflix. Days after its release, Zoom exclusively interacted with Kanika, who has written and produced this movie. Speaking to us, she reflected on her professional collaboration with the Bollywood actress. Calling herself and Taapsee 'risk-takers', Kanika revealed they like to push the envelope.
Reflecting on what makes their creative partnership work well, Kanika told Zoom, "I and Taapsee have collaborated on many films like Manmarziyaan, the Haseen Dillruba franchise, and many more. This is, in fact, our sixth collaboration. We have always found audience love and support whenever we have come out with a film. What works well in this partnership is that we both are risk-takers. We like to push envelope. I do a lot of genre benders."
The writer it tells a person when a leading lady on board comes with taking risks and pushing the envelope. Kanika feels that's the reason she is able to tell bolder stories and take risks. "That really makes a combination work well. And the audience love that we have got in Gandhari has been amazing. It has broken records. It is one of the biggest films of 2026. Audience mandate and love is clear. So that gives us further fuel to work harder and reach out to even bigger audience."
She further revealed how Taapsee is as a person. "Also I feel that Taapsee as a person is also unpredicatble so there's always something new to explore." And when it comes to Kanika, the writer said she wishes to genre-benders and different kinds of movies.
Since Gandhari was a mix of different genres and the Haseen Dillruba franchise was a genre-bender with pulp as the backdrop, they worked well; said Kanika. The duo believes in audience forward cinema.
In the same conversation, Kanika said Gandhari's success means a lot to her and Taapsee as it is their consecutive film outing and audience has given a beautiful mandate of love. "We both love risk-taking and genre benders like Haseena (Haseen Dillruba) 1, 2 (Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba) and now Gandhari. It gives us a lot more freedom and confidence. Our risk-taking appetite has increased to go out there and tell different stories and new stories."