Sai Tamhankar
Mihir Bhanage (BOMBAY TIMES; October 31, 2020)

The last few months have been a roller-coaster ride for everyone, but Sai Tamhankar is used to such ups and downs by now. She confesses, “My career has been like an ECG graph. There is nothing constant in it.” For someone who likes to take on new challenges, the actress doesn’t regret the choices she has made and is ready for newer things, a new venture being one of them. In a chat with us, Sai talks about working in the new normal, why people call her team the ‘Bomb Squad’ on sets, and the reason she’s not active on Twitter lately. Excerpts:

You were one of the first Marathi actors to have returned to the sets post the lockdown. Since the first workday in the new normal till date, how have things changed?
Between then and now, I think the number of sanitiser bottles used by us has increased. The rest of the precautions and work routine is largely the same. Coronavirus is not something you should be casual about. People on the sets of my Marathi show Maharashtrachi Hasya Jatra call my team the ‘Bomb Squad’ because my seating area is sanitised before and after I go there. I have even purchased a UV light stick to be doubly sure of the hygiene. After returning home, too, I thoroughly sanitise myself and my clothes. I think it’s a necessary routine given the fact that we are not out of danger yet.

You are looked upto as a style icon, and you recently started your own fashion venture, though this seems to be a tough time to start a business. Did you have any inhibitions?
I think I’ll look on the positive side of it and say that the move itself is commendable. There’s a lot of work involved and besides being exciting, it’s therapeutic because it keeps my business partner, Shruti Bhosle, and me mentally involved. That’s something we all need in this time of crisis.

The past few months have taken a toll on peoples’ mental well-being. Some of it is reflecting on social media and has led many people to quit Twitter, including your peers Subodh Bhave and Siddharth Chandekar. Your take?
Although I haven’t deactivated my Twitter account, I have been off the platform for a few weeks now. It may sound cliche, but there’s too much negativity there right now. You say something, you are trolled. You don’t say anything, you are questioned. It’s pointless. And, at the moment, my mental health is more important than paying attention to trolls and the toxicity around it. I am not in a space to deal with the negativity. Probably, people are frustrated with the pandemic and are venting it out on social media. Let them vent. If and when they stop, I will return to being active there again.

Barring the comedy show that you are judging right now, are there any more projects that you will start soon?
I have a Marathi film, a Hindi film, and web series in both the languages in the pipeline. But that’s all that I can say right now. I hope to begin work on these soon. There’s my film Mimi, which is complete, and we hope it gets a theatrical release soon.

Since you’ve honed your cullinary skills during the lockdown and with Diwali around the corner,are there any faral items that you will be preparing?
I won’t be going into the kitchen anytime soon. I’ve had enough of cooking throughout the lockdown and that should suffice for another six-eight months (laughs!). My mom is preparing some dishes that I love, and I will gorge on them this time.