Tamannaah Bhatia didn’t come from a film family but she always knew she wanted to dance around trees. A school-going teen, she was spotted at her annual day function by a family friend and producer. She was smitten and stubborn—a lethal combination for a Mumbai girl. “I think I was very self-assured as a 14-year-old. I had this unbeatable faith and belief. I was very impulsive. I really didn’t have any patience. I wanted things to happen now,” she says. Today, that same Sindhi girl has become one of the popular stars of Telugu and Tamil cinema.
Happy Days (2007) and Kalloori (2007) made her a star. 100% Love (2011) was one of her most acclaimed performances. From Suriya to Karthi to Naga Chaitanya and Ram Charan, Tamannaah worked with every A-lister down south. All this before the SS Rajamouli blockbuster Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) with Prabhas made her a pan-India phenomenon. Which is to say, she is the sort of actor who has survived changing industries, changing beauty standards, changing audiences, and changing definitions of what a heroine is allowed to be. The Nod chats with the star about 20 years in the industry, and why she's in the happiest phase of her life—spiritually, professionally, and physically.
