I am finally finding my voice'

“I am in a good place” says actor Tamannaah with a smile.  The intensely private actor seems to have shed her inhibitions, being more candid and confident when it comes to her personal and professional life.

Her recent acknowledgement of her relationship with Lust Stories 2 co-star Vijay Varma, whom she described as her “happy place”, sent the tabloids on overdrive. Teased about breaking hearts with the admission, she giggles saying, “Oh why do I need to break hearts! I’m just trying to make my place in people’s hearts.”
Also, the actor has finally broken her 18-year-old self-imposed ‘no on-screen kissing’ rule — she will be seen in a lip lock with Vijay Varma in Lust Stories 2.

Though many of her fans seem to have taken a high moral ground on the decision, the actor responds strongly: “I have had the amazing fortune of loyal fans, they don’t look at me as just a person or an actor, they regard me as their own, thanks to certain films I did. But I need to tell them that I am an actor first, and it’s important for me to put out stories about different people. And as a woman too, I am finally finding my voice, getting to play different characters, being empowered to tell the kind of stories I want to be part of. I know they have seen me a different way, but my evolution is also very important. I would be happy if they didn’t do any moral policing, and instead see it for the creative endeavour that it is, and encourage me in my journey as an actor.”

The Baahubali actor, who was last seen playing a bouncer in Madhur Bhandarkar’s Babli Bouncer, was recently part of the web-series Jee Karda, which focusses on the complexities of urban relationships.   

“I am petrified but in a good way — it’s the kind of nervous energy people have when they are starting their careers, and I hope I have this feeling forever because that’s what keeps you evolving. Nothing wrong in a having nervous energy; it’s about how you channel it. In my case it’s always been there and taken me to a good place,” she shares.

With over 65 film credits to her name, the actor, who has been part of stellar hits such as Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam (2009), Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) and Sye Raa Narmsimha Reddy (2019), says she doesn’t want to be contained as an actor. “I no longer want to be told that this is all I can do. It’s torture for an actor to be told ‘this is your identity and this is who you are’. The idea of being an actor is that you are different people every day and you are not playing the same person day in and day out. Back in the day, well-evolved parts for women were not written, since they were mostly relegated to being mere ornaments. With OTT and a lot of cinema that’s happening today, there are way better parts being written and I’m happy being in a time where filmmakers are not type casting you on the basis of your previous work and are giving you a wider canvas,” says Tamannaah.

Thanking filmmakers like SS Rajamouli and Madhur Bhandarkar for giving actors their due, she says, “Rajamouli Sir is one of the few people who casts actors not because they are stars or come with some market value, but because they actually suit the part. And this I hope changes the way casting is done, to give deserving actors the parts they otherwise wouldn’t get.”

Tamannaah has a strong social media presence, but the constant scramble to see and be seen makes her weary. “Social media is a tool meant to be used discreetly and to put out your narrative the way you want — it’s quite empowering in that way. It’s fun when you are using it, but it starts using you, subtly at first, and gets dangerous and scary later,” she warns.

Tamaannah will be next seen in the soon-to-be released Lust Stories 2 and Bhola Shankar opposite Chiranjeevi.