Tamannaah Bhatia was among the actors from India present at the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The actress says, “It gave me a sense of pride to represent my country at the film festival. When it came to walking down the red carpet, the idea was to present an honest version of myself. I have always loved watching Sonam (Kapoor Ahuja) on the red carpet. She is someone who has had a strong voice in fashion every time she was there. I have always admired her. She has presented the creations of Indian designers on the red carpet there, and her looks have been quite impactful.”

Talking about being in an environment that was all about films, Tamannaah shares, “Being at the festival made me realise that the kind of content that is screened there is something that may not be a centre of discussion otherwise.”

Tamannaah says, “We end up focussing on celebrities making a style statement on the red carpet there.”

Now back at work in India, Tamannaah is looking forward to Madhur Bhandarkar’s Babli Bouncer, in which she plays the titular role – that of a female bouncer. “I enjoy playing characters that leave the audience stunned,” she says, adding, “I feel Babli Bouncer is a novel concept as nobody has ever explored the world of female bouncers. Madhur sir is extremely good at portraying female protagonists through his films. This film will question the clichés. Why can’t a female bouncer have a varied range of personality traits? Why can’t she be feminine yet physically strong? Roles like these help me evolve not just as an actor, but as a person. You can’t excel as an actor if you don’t evolve as a person. I think that’s what is happening to me right now.”