Actor Tamannaah Bhatia is known for her work in Telugu, Tamil and Hindi films and has worked with everyone from Rajinikanth to Prabhas. Her first role came in 2005 with Chand Sa Roshan Chehra. The same year she made her Telugu film debut with Sri, and the following year she made her Tamil debut with Kedi. Now, in an interview with Filmfare, Tamannaah has opened up about south films ‘where toxic masculinity is celebrated’

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Tamannaah on south film’s ‘toxic masculinity’

When asked about the ‘toxic masculinity in the south’ and if there were any scenes or films, where she didn’t agree to it, Tamannaah said, “In the south, certain formulas are used because they are easy. In certain commercial films, I couldn’t relate to my characters and would request that the filmmaker lower the intensity. Having said that, I came to a point where I stopped doing those parts. I started making a conscious effort not to be part of such films where toxic masculinity is celebrated to the point where it is almost intolerable.”

On success and failure

The actor was also asked about how her ‘success in the south did not translate’ in Bollywood. Responding to if it bothered her, Tamannaah said, “The films I made here (Bollywood) didn’t work because it was their destiny. I never took it as a personal failure because a movie is made with a lot of people contributing to it. That way, I am a bit detached from both my successes and failures. I don’t take either seriously. I am alive. I am here. That’s how I look at it. After 17 years, I still wake up every day wanting to do it over and over again. Acting is my passion. I wake up to face the camera. It excites me the most.”

Tamannaah Bhatia’s filmography

In 2007, Tamannaah Bhatia achieved her first success in Telugu and Tamil cinema with Happy Days and Kalloori, respectively. Her portrayal of a college student in the latter earned her a nomination in the Best Actress Tamil category at the 55th Filmfare Awards South. Her performances in Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam and Kanden Kadhalai (both released in 2009) earned her nominations in the Best Actress Telugu and Best Actress Tamil categories at the 57th Filmfare Awards South ceremony.

A series of commercially successful films – such as Paiyaa, Racha and Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu – helped her establish a career in Tamil and Telugu cinema. Years later, she made her first appearance in a Hindi film since her debut role with Himmatwala (2013), a remake of the 1983 Hindi film of the same name. She played a warrior princess in SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali: The Beginning (2015), the first of two films in the bilingual epic film Baahubali, one of the highest grossing Indian film of all time.

Recently, her film Jailer performed very well at the box office, grossing more than ₹650 crore worldwide. She has a number of upcoming films with her Malayalam movie Bandra, Tamil film Aranmai 4, and Hindi film Vedaa lined up for release.