Her next stop: Successville

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Tamanna Bhatia may already be a leading heroine in the film industry in the South, but with Himmatwala, she’s taking her baby steps in Bollywood. She’s already getting attention from the right quarters, and has signed a film with Akshay Kumar.

“I kept getting offers for Hindi films, but I waited for a movie that I would want to watch as a member of the audience. As an actor, you may be biased towards your product and tend to lose your objectivity. I didn’t want to fall into that trap. When it comes to a script, I read it as a filmgoer first. Then I ask myself if I was excited enough to watch it unfold on screen. The answer was ‘yes’ in the case of Himmatwala,” says Tamanna.
Of course, the fact that she would be working with Sajid Khan and Ajay Devgn provided a nudge in the right direction. “Sajid is a blockbuster director, and Ajay has been amazingly consistent for over 20 years. The fact that they are really good with their work convinced me,” the actress says.
And then, there were all those fun numbers, choreographed by Farah Khan. Did Tamanna have to closely observe Sridevi’s moves in the original Himmatwala to get the nuances right? “Not just Himmatwala, I have seen a lot of Sridevi ma’am’s work. I grew up watching her cinema. My homework was already done. Beyond that, I did whatever I understood of the film: to keep the essence alive, not ape anyone,” she replies.
The pretty lass shrugs off the idea that she is using Himmatwala as a stepping stone to greater Bollywood success. “Do you know that when I started working in the South, I didn’t even have a portfolio?” she smiles. “Every film I did, got me my next one. The same holds true for Hindi films. Himmatwala got me this film with Akshay.”
As of now, Tamanna says she is not worrying about entering the 100-crore club. “See, figures are just a barometer of how people respond to the film. Eventually, the audience should enjoy a film. I would be glad to hear that a film of mine is making money,” she says.