After playing the leading lady in several Telugu and Tamil films, Pannu managed to get recognition for her performances in the Hindi spy thriller Baby (2015) and the courtroom drama Pink (2016), both of which were critical and commercial successes.

[4][6][7] Dilmohan's family, who lived in Shakti Nagar, Delhi, were targeted during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots but survived after finding refuge in their Hindu neighbours' homes.

[12][15] As a model, she endorsed brands such as Reliance Trends, Red FM 93.5, UniStyle Image, Coca-Cola, Motorola, Pantaloon, PVR Cinemas, Standard Chartered Bank, Dabur, Airtel, Tata Docomo, World Gold Council, Havells and Vardhman.

Speaking about her role, a reviewer from Sify said: "Debutant Taapsee is a promising find and she suits the character of an Anglo-Indian girl to the T".

[23] Paresh C Palicha of Rediff commented: "Taapsee Pannu as Saira Banu, whose entry into the scene becomes the bone of contention between the siblings, has nothing noteworthy to do".

[25] She starred in a high-budget film titled Veera (2011), opposite Ravi Teja and Kajal Aggarwal, which received mixed reviews.

[31] In 2013, Pannu made her Hindi film debut with David Dhawan's comedy Chashme Baddoor, co-starring Siddharth, Rishi Kapoor, Divyendu Sharma and Ali Zafar.

[35] Following an absence from films for a year, she made a significant advancement in her career due to her supporting role in Neeraj Pandey's spy thriller Baby (2015), as undercover agent Shabana Khan.

[38] The film, which also starred Amitabh Bachchan, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Tariang, followed three girls who fight a case against a politician's nephew for molestation.

[39] Rajeev Masand noted that Pannu, along with other two ladies, "deliver natural performances as strong but emotionally vulnerable women, without a hint of affectation".

[38][42] Pannu's first release of 2017 was the romantic comedy Running Shaadi opposite Amit Sadh, where she played a Punjabi girl who helps couples in eloping to get married.

Pandey noticed that Pannu's seven-eight minute sequence in the role of special agent Shabana Khan in Baby was well received after which he "decided to give the story an arc".

[46] Both the film and Pannu's performance met with mixed response with Sarita A. Tanwar of Daily News and Analysis noting that she is "fantastic in every scene" while Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mint felt that she is "hardly likable" in.

[47][48] Pannu's subsequent roles were of a ghost in the Telugu horror comedy film Anando Brahma and the protagonist's girlfriend in the action-comedy Judwaa 2.

[50] Despite disliking the film, Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express found Pannu to be the "real surprise" among the ensemble adding that she "makes the most'' of an otherwise thinly written part.

[52] Her followup was Shaad Ali's sports drama Soorma which was based on the life of field hockey player Sandeep Singh (played by Diljit Dosanjh).

[61] Anupama Chopra called her performance "mercurial, mysterious and maddening": "With her cloud of red hair enveloping her, Rumi seems, continually to be a woman on a warpath".

Pannu had a string of releases in 2019, with the first being Sujoy Ghosh's psychological thriller, Badla, an official remake of the 2016 Spanish film The Invisible Guest.

Pannu portrayed the role of Prakashi Tomar, one of the world's oldest sharpshooters for which she underwent three months of training in pistol shooting.

[76] Her role was well-received with Anna M. M. Vetticad writing that both Pannu and Pednekar succeed in "delivering equally finely tuned, sensitive performances".

[78] Pannu's sole release of 2020 was Anubhav Sinha's social drama Thappad, where she played the role of Amrita, a home-maker who files for divorce after her husband slaps her.

[86] Her final film of the year was Rashmi Rocket, a sports drama that tells a story of an Indian track and field athlete who was subject to gender testing due to being diagnosed with hyperandrogenism.

Her effort to celebrate Rashmi's victory and endure her pain, is as real as it gets and the actress doesn't miss the beat when it comes to making us root for her character".

[92] She next starred in the film directed by Srijit Mukherji, based on the life of former Test and ODI captain of the India women's national cricket team, Mithali Raj, titled Shabaash Mithu.

[93][94] She then starred in the sci-fi mystery film Dobaaraa, which was a remake of 2018 Spanish thriller Mirage (2018), her second collaboration with director Anurag Kashyap.

[98] Despite disliking the film, Archika Khurana of The Times of India thought Pannu provided "solid support" and found both her and Fazal to be "underutilized" but criticised her "off-key dubbing".

[97] In 2023, Pannu appeared in Rajkumar Hirani’s comedy-drama Dunki opposite Shah Rukh Khan as Manu, a Punjabi woman with aspirations of travelling to England.

Based on the Italian film Perfect Strangers, Pannu portrayed a social media influencer who learns of her husband's (played by Ammy Virk) infidelity.

[110] Pannu will next portray the role of a police officer in Woh Ladki Hai Kahaan and appear in Barath Neelakantan's sci-fi project titled Alien.

[114] Aditi Bhimjyani of Vogue noted, "Pannu has been busy making her unforgettable mark via her filmography of strong leading roles".