Tamannaah Bhatia: Tirelessly Original & Fervently Unapologetic

Tamannaah unfolds her candid thoughts and their many facets to Utsavi Jha.

- Utsavi Jha

Fresh out of a flight, Tamannaah landed straight at the rustic yet beautiful location of our shoot and didn’t look one bit hassled by the lack of rest. Appearing ready for a long, grinding day, she delightfully greeted the team. As I waited my turn to greet and brief her about the interview, I wondered if she would answer the very long list of questions I had made her. What ensued after that is what this long yet elaborate story answers and with that, I got my answer, too.

While I treaded with care because a long gruelling day of flashes, looking flawless and posing might be getting the better of her, not only did we have a long chat, but also discussed a lot of things off-record too, like how groovy she thought Starboy by The Weeknd was. While the admirer in me wanted to sit back and look at the beauty unravel in front of the lens, the task master in me had to march towards her with my by now-tattered-piece-of-paper and a pen to get my answers sorted.

As the crew settled into the groove of the shoot, I started by asking her what her first day ever on set was like, to which she said, ‘I was very young, 14 or 15, and I had to play the violin and look like a pro, but I couldn’t hold it correctly. I’m thankful the shot was there for 2 seconds and I managed to do it somehow.’ Being the young actress that she was, she shared, it was more about seizing whatever opportunity she got. However, she now knows how to navigate the industry as she admits, ‘Today I think I’m in that phase when I can choose my roles and I’m lucky that the journey has been encouraging. I’ve received a good response from people who want to watch my films.’