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Tamannaah Bhatia: 'Whenever A Man Made Me Feel Like I Had Nothing To Contribute, I'd Imagine Him In A Saree Or Glamorous Outfit'
The 'Baahubali' star, now fronting Amazon Prime Video’s 'Do You Wanna Partner,' reveals the unusual mental trick that gave her the courage to thrive in a film industry where women are often sidelined
Tamannaah Bhatia’s career has long been defined by one faultline: before and after Baahubali. For a Sindhi girl to not only break into but also thrive in South Indian cinema – across multiple languages – is no small feat. With 85-plus films behind her and a place among the industry’s highest-paid actors, Bhatia has carved out the kind of career that still eludes many of her peers.
She’s now headlining Amazon Prime Video’s Do You Wanna Partner, opposite Diana Penty. In the series, Bhatia plays Shikha Roy Chowdhury, a sharp marketing maverick who, after losing her job, decides to start afresh with her best friend. Together, the two women muscle their way into the alcohol-beverage market – a boys’ club if ever there was one.
It is a story that resonates with Bhatia herself, who has spent two decades holding her own in industries where men often dictate the rules. Asked about how she found her conviction early on, she offered a strikingly unusual answer.
“Whenever a man tried to make me feel like he had the final say in things and I had nothing to contribute,” she told The Hollywood Reporter India, “I’d always imagined him in a saree or a really glamorous outfit! And then I’d think he’d look really bad in it. That’s when I realised – what I can do... he can’t. So they will need me. That gave me immense courage to pull off what I do, because I feel like what a woman can do, only a woman can do.”
The actor was clear-eyed about the dynamics of her industry. “Nobody gives you work because you’re a nice person,” she said. “People give you work because you bring something to the table. In the long run, it’s better to actually put what’s on your mind in front of people. When they see an idea bloom into something that works for the script or the story, it tends to work in your favour. Worrying too much about how people will feel often just dims your opportunity to contribute and is quite counterproductive.”
Bhatia’s confidence trick may sound unusual, but it underscores a larger truth about her career. Like her on-screen alter ego in Do You Wanna Partner, the actor too has relied on an unshakeable belief in her own abilities. In doing so, she has become a force to be reckoned with.