Actress Tamannaah has had a rather stellar career. But the actress, who began her career at the age of mere 15 years, has a stoic outlook towards success. “I’ve tasted success when I was quite young, and in a way, that’s helped me stay rather grounded. In fact, success doesn’t excite or dishearten me. I’ve seen both sides of the coin, and I can handle struggles just as well as I can handle successes. Moreover, I haven’t let my failures or successes define me. The film industry makes you strong in that sense,” she says, a little smile playing on her lips.
The Baahubali actress then reveals the importance of focusing on the take-away element from each project rather than just the end product.
“I don’t think I have still achieved any sort of benchmark. I continue to strive for that excellence because I will stop excelling the day I feel I have arrived,” she adds. Then talking about her journey thus far, we ask her if she’s noticed what newcomers today have that she didn’t when she began her career.
“I feel there is a plethora of opportunities and a more organised structure for the newcomers, as compared to when I started out in the industry. Today, everyone has the opportunity to become a star if they prove their potential. That being said, competition has become fiercer, with everyone vying for the same spot. Luckily, media like the web have opened up, which helps actors transcend beyond films and television,” she says.
Talking of the web, we wonder what social media means to Tamannaah.
She states that while it’s indeed a great medium that can make socio–economic changes, it has its pros and cons. “For instance,” she explains, “Visibility has always been an actor’s best friend. The best way to get people to want to work with you is to show them your work. Today, social media has also become unhealthy for some people’s mental health and self-esteem as it’s become a tool for them to seek validation from others online, creating a life on social media which is not true to their real life, off it,” she says.
Highlighting the aspect of vanishing boundaries thanks to the accessibility people have to celebs through social media, she adds, “I don’t want people thinking they know me to the point that they feel comfortable coming into my house without being invited. I’d rather have my privacy over anything else.”
