Tamannaah Bhatia will be reprising Tabu’s role in the Telugu remake of the Sriram Raghavan directorial Andhadhun, and the actress is delighted. “Ayushmann’s (Khurrana) character, Aakash, a blind pianist, was unconventional for a hero while Tabu’s Simi was unexpected. And the way she portrayed it made it way more exciting. Simi stayed with me long after I’d seen the film which was why I said ‘yes’ when I got this offer,” the actress informs.

Pointing out that the dark comedy crime thriller has paved the way for a new kind of cinema, she reasons that the audience today is more accepting of flawed characters. “It makes them much more humane and relatable,” Tamannaah points out, adding that if the film is ever remade with a female protagonist, she’d love to step into Ayushmann’s shoes too.

The USP of the 2018 film was the twist in the tale. With many in the audience having already seen it, how will they sustain the suspense? “The reason there is a market for remakes is because the Telugu audience does not watch too many Hindi films and that works in our favour,” asserts Tamannaah, who is also not bowed down by the pressure of expectations and comparisons. “I don’t feel the pressure of remakes anymore, I’ve done too many already,” Tamannaah laughs, quick to add that since Tabu is an actress par excellence, she’d love to get some pointers from her and learn what was going on in her mind when she was in front of the camera.

The Telugu remake of Andhadhun is being helmed by Merlapaka Gandhi, with Nithiin stepping in Ayushmann’s shoes and this is Tamannaah’s first collaboration with him. “Nithiin and I could have easily started off with a commercial Telugu film but I am glad it’s with this. We are new age actors who want to be a part of relevant content,” she avers, pointing out that since both of them are in the same age group unlike Ayushmann and Tabu, that aspect of the script will be reworked. “But essentially the character and what happens will remain the same.”

Tamannaah recently shot in Mumbai for three days, and flew down to Hyderabad on Friday to resume work. “I am doing my first Telugu show and a remake of Kannada film, Love Mocktail, which was released during the lockdown. There’s also a Tamil series and a sports film with Gopichand from before the lockdown that I have to complete,” she rattles off.

Meanwhile, around a month ago, her parents tested positive for Coronavirus at the same time. “It came as a big shock as they had been taking all precautions and had hardly stepped out of home,” she recalls. “Surprisingly, my staff and I tested negative, but that enabled me to help them. When the virus strikes your home, you have to be extra cautious, but at the same time not succumb to the phobia.”

Tamannaah admits that there were times she was terrified and felt extremely helpless with both her father and mother in the hospital. “It was like my worst fears had come true and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t even go to visit them in the hospital. Thankfully, they fought back and are doing well now,” she recounts, confiding that from now on, she had decided not to waste her time and energy doing something that she doesn’t enjoy or relate to. “I will no longer spend time on people I don’t feel for. These six months were a good period to let go of certain things.”