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Tushar Joshi (DNA; August 7, 2014)

Tamannaah Bhatia is a busy girl. She might be doing a handful of movies in Bollywood, but her slate down South is quite full. Despite her last release Humshakals making money at the BO, she feels she has a long way to go. She is on the lookout for a role that will change her image and give her the breakthrough she’s desperately looking for. We spoke to her during the promotions for her upcoming film Entertainment. Excerpts...

Your reaction to Bipasha and Saif’s comments on Humshakals?
Every one has a right to voice their opinion. But I am thrilled to be part of Humshakals and I enjoyed every minute of the making. We had a lot of fun on set, so I have many fond memories of the film. Also, success and failure are part of your career graph, I have seen both, so I would never say anything bad about a project I have worked in. It wouldn’t be ethical to say anything negative about my own film.

You got yourself a dog after Entertainment?
Yes, I love dogs, and because we were constantly surrounded by dogs during the making of the film, I had to get myself one. So I got this mixed-breed poodle and named it Pebbles. Now I am so attached to him that I can’t think of leaving him for long stretches of time.

Is it difficult working with animals?
No, the dog in Entertainment was very well trained! In fact, it was easier to work with him than I had expected. We shot the whole film in Bangkok because the dog was there. They had auditioned several before selecting the one who made it in the film. We got really attached to him. In the film you can actually
see him emoting, we haven’t used any special effects to get expressions out of him.

One thing you learnt working with Akshay Kumar...
...That discipline and hard work can take you places! I have not seen anyone as dedicated and multi-talented as him. He is literally a dream to work with and just watching him in front of the camera is magical. Of course, he also is super fit so you get to learn a lot about nutrition and fitness from him.

What are the kind of roles that excite you?
I want to try different genres. I have done conventional comedies, so maybe a romantic comedy would be interesting. Also, I want to work with younger actors. I want to break the stereotype that I can only do certain kind of roles. I am really on the lookout for something that will be a game-changer for me. Down South, I am able to dabble into genres and a variety of roles, I want to do the same in Bollywood.