She’s loved as much for her straight talk as for her power-packed performances. Taapsee Pannu, who turned 35 on August 1 and has Anurag Kashyap’s Dobaaraa up for release, was recently seen at the theatres in Srijit Mukherji’s Shabaash Mithu. The biopic, however, is not her only film with a filmmaker from Bengal. Some of Taapsee’s milestone films have been with film directors with a Bong connection. Check out this list.

Baby (2014): After debuting in Bollywood with a comedy – David Dhawan’s Chashme Baddoor – Taapsee was cast as an ordinary citizen-turned-undercover agent by Howrah boy Neeraj Pandey in his action-thriller Baby. Taapsee showed off some mean moves alongside Akshay Kumar, and positioned herself as an actress who’s interested in breaking away from the romantic heroine mould to take on grittier roles.

Pink (2016): Two Kolkata boys teamed up to make this legal thriller that put consent and the right to say ‘no’ at the centre of discussions, and had Taapsee matching pace with Amitabh Bachchan. Directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury and produced by Shoojit Sircar’s Rising Sun Films, Pink catapulted Taapsee to nationwide fame and to the status of a bankable star.

Running Shaadi.com (2016): Post-Pink, Taapsee featured in yet another Shoojit Sircar production, a romantic comedy directed by Amit Roy called Running Shaadi.com, opposite Amit Sadh. Incidentally, early on in her career, Taapsee had been directed by Shoojit in an ad commercial for Wild Stone deodorant where Amit Sadh was her co-star.

Naam Shabana (2017): In Naam Shabana, the prequel to Baby co-starring Akshay Kumar, Taapsee delivered a stellar act as an undercover agent yet again. The film was written and produced by Neeraj Pandey, who had directed her in Baby.

Badla (2018): In the Sujoy Ghosh-directed Badla, Taapsee was pitted against Amitabh Bachchan. Much of the suspense and thrill arise from the cat-and-mouse game that Taapsee and Bachchan play with each other — she as a businesswoman who insists on being wrongfully framed for the murder of her lover; he as a lawyer who’s determined to crack the case. With the duo in the same frame, there were a few déjà vu courtroom moments from Pink, though from a completely different perspective.

Shabaash Mithu (2022): The latest on Taapsee’s list of films with filmmakers with a Bengal connection is the biopic Shabaash Mithu, directed by Kolkata boy Srijit Mukherji. Taapsee trained in cricket to play Mithali Raj, the former Test and ODI captain of Indian women’s cricket team.