Anubhav Sinha On Assi With Taapsee Pannu: 'Every 18 To 20 Minutes, A Woman Is exploited In Our Country'

Taapsee Pannu, who has previously delivered hard-hitting performances in Mulk and Thappad with filmmaker Anubhav Sinha, is now gearing up for Assi, set to release in theatres on February 20, 2026. The courtroom drama follows a teacher, Parima (Kani Kusruti), who is brutally gang-raped while returning home, and Taapsee, as Parima's lawyer Raavi, fights tirelessly for her justice. Ahead of the release, Sinha opened up about why he made the film.

Anubhav Sinha On Why He Made Assi

Speaking to PTI, Anubhav said Assi, which means 80 in Hindi, represents the number of sexual violence cases reported against women every day, a figure he finds deeply disturbing.

"This is the number of cases that are reported every day. There is no count of those that are hidden on a daily basis. This number in itself was so shocking when we calculated it because every 18 to 20 minutes, something like this takes place. By the time you and I finish talking about it, a woman would have already been exploited," Sinha said."

Anubhav Sinha Was Going Through Internal Conflict

Further, he stated that he was going through an internal conflict, constantly asking himself, "What can I do? Why are we not doing enough? Is the police not doing anything? What about the judiciary?" He later realized that the problem ran deeper, adding, "It is easy to blame the police and judiciary, but difficult to blame oneself." Sinha revealed that Assi was written during this period of his antardwand (inner conflict).

Sinha said he spent a lot of time reading the accounts of the women who had gone through such experiences.

"Even if there is a support system from all sides, a woman wrote that she used to look at herself in the mirror but thought it was someone else. So, it is very disturbing. Because we as men just cannot fathom this. I read a lot of psychological analysis about perpetrators. 'Who are the people who do this? Where do they get the strength to do this?' So, there were a lot of shocking details," the filmmaker added.

The courtroom thriller, also stars, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Kani Kusruti, Mohd Zeeshan Ayyub , Supriya Pathak, Revathi and Naseeruddin Shah.