Ever since her debut with Chand Sa Roshan Chehra (2005), actor Tamannaah Bhatia has gone from strength to strength in an 18-year career. And one regular feature in nearly two decades in the industry has been constant speculation about her personal life.

“I don’t know why that happens, but women get married a bunch of times before we actually get married! We get married every Friday, and then hear, ‘Oh you are not married yet!’ People are constantly getting me married to all kinds of people, from doctors to businessmen!” she quips, adding, “I feel I have already been married too many times, I don’t know what will happen when I really get married! Will people be excited anymore? People will think it is another speculation!”

On the work front, the change in longevity of female actors’ careers is refreshing, and Bhatia is glad to witness it. “The scenario has fully changed, I love it. I see Kareena (Kapoor Khan), Tabu — people who I have grown up watching... I am in love with Tabu, especially. I have a crush on her. This is what I want our women to be like, at every age. They have reinvented themselves and presented themselves in so many different parts that female actors haven’t explored till now. That is my quest, too,” says the Baahubali and Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy (2019) actor.

The 33-year-old also strikes down the notion that female actors generally see a decline after a prime in their career. “I never settled for what people thought I should be doing. People want you to settle and say ‘this is enough’, and that is often the peak of your career. It’s tragic to have [the idea of] a peak,” she says.

Asked if she wants to come clean on her equation with actor Vijay Varma, Bhatia finally addresses it for the first time. “We’ve done a film together. Such rumours keep going around. Clarifying them is just not necessary. I have nothing more to say about it,” she says.