Tamannaah Bhatia feels that 2023 has been a year that saw her pushing her boundaries as an actor. From her viral song Kaavaalaa in Jailer to making bold career choices with her digital projects like Lust Stories 2 and Jee Karda and doing South action films like Bhola Shankar and Bandra – 2023 has been a mixed bag for her. In a chat with us, she looks back and reflects on how the year panned out.

Tamannaah says, “2023 was probably the most conscious year of my career in terms of decision-making. My song from Jailer, a full-on commercial dance number, was in contrast to any of the characters I played in Jee Karda, Aakhri Sach or Lust Stories 2. Each project was set in a different world. So, as an artiste this has been the most rewarding year of my career so far. I wanted certain things, and I just went for them.”

Tamannaah shares that she manifested this shift in 2022 and it all began with her film Babli Bouncer. She says, “That film was my first step towards the entire shift I was trying to make. It made me understand that people are watching you, and they have a very different perception of you – that is what matters the most.”

While many appreciated Tamannaah’s choices, she also faced some trolling online for the intimate scenes in the anthology Lust Stories 2 and web show Jee Karda. “I think it is very natural that when people have always seen you a certain way on-screen,” she says, adding, “The moment they see you in something they don’t identify you with, there is a certain amount of shock, which leads to such reactions. But, essentially, you are trying to play a part in a way that justifies the role. It took me a while to come to this place. For many years, I wasn’t comfortable with certain things, but then I decided to push my boundaries as an actor. Projects like Jee Karda, Lust Stories 2, Aakhri Sach and the song Kaavaalaa helped me do that.”

Tamannaah also broke her no-kissing policy on screen that she had followed in her 18-year-long career. Has the evolving content in the digital space pushed her to do that? She answers, “I started off very young as an actor at 15, so I did certain things to ensure my parents were comfortable. Also, I catered to a certain kind of audience and wanted to stand by their sentiments. As I grew older, I realized I am an artiste and can’t restrict and limit myself. I couldn’t confine myself and expect something new to come my way.”

2023 also brought a lot of focus on Tamannaah’s personal life. The actress opened up about her relationship with Vijay Varma. She tells us that the two bond over movies. “Movies are a common ground between us. We enjoy watching movies in theatres and exploring content on OTT. But I must say, I watch a lot more movies than him.”

Given that the narratives of the seven protagonists that front the recently-released Amazon Prime offering, Jee Karda, are distinctly diverse, composer duo Sachin-Jigar’s decision to join hands with musicians with contrasting sensibilities could be considered a rather clever move. In this interview, they discuss what prompted their decision to rope in the young crop of musicians, and how the OTT boom has given an impetus to discussion around the score.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

Sachin: The distinguishable aspect about this one is that its songs and dances [can be looked at as] commercial independent numbers. It’s a light-hearted and feel-good show that will have an emotional connect with everyone, at one or another level. For the music, we collaborated with many young independent artistes, like Rashmeet Kaur, I P Singh, who became famous for Jeda Nasha, and also Varun Jain, who sang Tere Vaaste for us in Zara Hatke Zara Bachke. We didn’t approach any lyricist during the process. We joined hands with people who could write their own lyrics, and decided to be involved with them. There is a gamut of songs in this offering. There’s a shaadi song, a break-up number, and a sangeet offering. There is also rap, which was rendered by Mellow. They were all essential to capture the emotions between the friends.

Jigar: Usually, songs have a defined format. But, these numbers do not. They begin with a verse, move on to a rap section, and then the chorus follows before the end. To explain this to someone who is seasoned, and to attempt to break this format [would not have been easy]. We needed a fresh perspective, which was offered by these artistes. These musicians are open to experimenting and do not follow tradition. Also, there is a process to every song. An ask can be specific — like, creating the first song, which is expected to draw the audience. Each song has a requirement that is to be fulfilled. [But], the audience is not always looking for commercial [numbers]. We don’t want to put our weight on [an artiste]. When permissible, the artiste should be allowed to be artistic; we want them to express themselves.

But, it doesn’t end there. When it comes to making a song, you can gauge when the belly is not full. A song will tell you that it may be ready, but it is still struggling. That’s where we step in and decide the way ahead. We are directors’ boys. That’s also why we love working with Dinu [Dinesh Vijan, producer]. He is open to experimenting. With web shows, composers are given some freedom because we can do things that we cannot while working on a film score. [Unlike in films], here, we can cater to a specific kind of audience. 

Sachin: Yes. Because of the OTT [boom], music composition has increased. Never before were we asked to release a project’s background score. But, we were asked to do so for Saas Bahu Aur Flamingo. That speaks volumes about this shift.

In Jee Karda, Suhail Nayyar’s character Rishabh often takes his bike for a spin at the end of a long, hard day. The only problem was that the actor didn’t know how to ride a bike. Before the Amazon Prime Video series went on floors, Nayyar dedicated a few weeks to mastering the two-wheeler.

“A few falls were a given, but I eventually learnt to ride a bike like a pro. It took me almost a month to do it perfectly,” shares the actor.

The series, also starring Tamannaah Bhatia and Aashim Gulati, tells the story of seven childhood friends who find their lives in a mess as they step into their 30s. As part of prep for his role, Nayyar also had to attain a chiselled frame. He says that director Arunima Sharma’s brief to him was to “get leaner”.

“I worked with my trainer Tridev Pandey, sweating it out for hours in the gym. My daily routine included cardio, strength training, and flexibility exercises. I followed a strict and balanced meal plan, which was a good mix of protein and carbs. I missed my burgers a lot, but when I saw my pictures, [the sacrifice] felt worth it,” he grins.

Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer series Jee Karda chronicles the lives of seven friends who grew up together, and continue to navigate life, and friendship into their 30s.

“Their friendship commences from their schooling days. An incident occurs, and that binds them together. They grow up, but they keep coming back to each other. The show is named Jee Karda because it showcases how they impulsively try to [find] joy in their lives,” says Samvedna Suwalka, who features as one of the seven friends in the Maddock show.

As a young girl married into a family where space continues to remain a constraint, Suwalka’s character, Sheetal, is often seen struggling to express her love for her husband.

“We have intimate scenes, which often see our characters rushing through the process of sex because they fear someone might walk into them [during the act]. We worked with intimacy coach Aastha [Khanna], who also worked with Deepika [Padukone] in Gehraiyaan.”

Chronicling what the process of intimacy coaching entails, Suwalka shares, “It begins with simply talking about your body parts — the ones you are both comfortable and uncomfortable with. It also involves non-verbal communication. It is so difficult to simply sit and look into someone’s eyes without saying a word to each other. The idea of expressing without speaking is not easy. In another, we were made to stand at a certain distance, while each one of us approached the other. We were asked to share when our proximity made any one of us uncomfortable. Often, one may not be able to decipher how these workshops are essential in the making of a 30-second long sex scene, until it actually plays out.”

Asserting that intimate scenes are also completely choreographed, Suwalka highlights that both actors are required to ask the other for consent before the camera rolls.

“Both the woman and the man may feel vulnerable. Each one needs to discuss how he/she intends to touch the other during the shot. In our case, these trust exercises were particularly important because the director wanted it to appear like we were a married couple who were not having sex for the first time. We were also asked about the clothes that we were comfortable wearing.”

Ask her how matters would proceed if she was uncomfortable with the final product, and she gives credit to director Arunima Sharma for allowing hers to be the last call.

“Due to certain situations, we had to be rather quick while shooting the scene. When we saw some rushes, there was one aspect that I wasn’t comfortable with, and I freaked out. I spoke to her, and she asked me for time to let her work with the rushes, and assured me that if I was unhappy with the edit, we’d discuss it. So, I was made to feel like the power was in my hands. There was a part I wasn’t happy with, and she also agreed that it wasn’t aesthetically pleasing. So, we got rid of it.”

Badlapur is unusual terrain -a revenge drama with a sinister ambience that ordinarily would have left no scope for music. But the “90-minute love manual“, as producer Dinesh Vijan of Maddock Films prefers calling the album, organically blended music into the narrative. The album includes Jeena Jeena that teaches you how to fall in love, Judaai that brings out the pain of losing your loved one and the climax track Jee Karda that encapsulates the aftermath of the loss. We hear, each song materialised in a record time of 90 minutes.

Not meandering much from the tradition of Sriram Raghavan's films, the revenge drama uses songs only in the background. “Music works well when it has an absolute synergy with the story, which became the case here,“ reasons Sriram. Over their past four associations, composers Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya discovered an alluring chemistry with Dinesh. “We come from the school of thought that believes music happens. A session of jamming, discussion and laughs later, we invariably have a song. The reason why not a single person has been credited for the lyrics is because we all have sat together, pooled in ideas and penned the final words,“ says the producer.

Sachin-Jigar say that Dinesh's taste of referencing is international. “For instance, we could make Jee Karda as raw as we wanted and the guts come from Dinesh's backing,“ says Jigar.

Mixing an interesting blend of singers, the composers concede that it's their patience that has paid off. “We waited six months to get Rekha Bhardwaj and Arijit Singh together for the first time for Judaai. We knew that their voices would make the song unforgettable,“ recounts Sachin.

For Jee Karda, they needed intensity and Divya, who sang the scratch, became inseparable from the track.“We needed honesty for Jeena Jeena that required less singing and more soul.Atif Aslam rendered it impeccably . The part of the song where he hums, it almost seems he is the guy sitting in your living room and crooning,“ says Jigar.

Gaining momentum is the bonus track Badla Badla, which is Sachin's favourite.“It's a battle between Vishal Dadlani's devilish voice, the coldness that Priya Panchal pulls off, the unpredictable depth of Suraj Jagan and the haunting quality of Jasleen Kaur Royal's voice,“ says Sachin.

Badlapur is a special album for Varun Dhawan, who treads out of his comfort zone with this project. Jee Karda is the closest to his heart. “I first heard it in Sachin-Jigar's studio and thought of it as an unusually cool song. Divya has sung the hell out of it. That song captures the essence of the film,“ says Varun.

Contrary to Varun's choice and his own role, Nawazuddin Siddiqui picks an atypical favourite. “I am a sucker for romantic songs and Jeena Jeena just blew my mind.“

Badlapur, presented by Eros International and Maddock Films, releases tomorrow.





One of the most soulful songs of Badlapur - Jee Karda - picturised on Varun Dhawan and Yami Gautam, will go on air later this week. Varun is so high on the song, composed by Sachin-Jigar, that he keeps telling everyone that it's a song straight from his heart. 

Around two months ago, Sriram Raghavan's dark thriller, Badlapur, was screened for Sachin Sanghvi and Jigar Saraiya, followed by a team meeting during which the music score was discussed. The composer duo, who had been involved with the film from the scripting stage, agreed that they needed a gritty theme song expressing the urge to die in love which could be picturised on the aashiq hero,Varun Dhawan. This song playing in the background in the film's trailer, immediately caught the attention, and on Tuesday, Jee Karda was released online without a video which is yet to be shot.

Talking about it, Sachin says that the aim was to make the “best suicide song“, adding, “Sometimes love can turn fatal too“.

Jigar points out that while most songs about heartbreak and judaai talk about the pain of love, this one is different because of the aggressive undertone which takes Varun's character to the edge of madness where he's ready to do anything to get his love back, even kill himself.

“Hanste hanste mit jaaneya ni mera jee karda marjaneya ni aaj mera jee karda,“ he croons. “It's melody with a tinge of melancholy. There's pain but it is not mixed with tears of weakness but a burning aggression.“

As the emotions flowed, Jigar's wife Priya Saraiya gave words to their music which is a mix of sufi, rock and pure melody. The words were in a college boy's lingo. They sent a scratch to the film's producer, Dinesh Vijan, who assured them that they were on the right track. Two weeks ago, Dinesh gave them a line that helped them crack the song. “He came up with Marjaneya ni aaj mera jee karda and and we wrapped up the song in four hours flat,“ reminisces Jigar.

After that Divya Kumar came on board. The singer has hit all the right notes lately with the remixed version of Happy Endings' G phaad ke and Finding Fanny's Shake Your Bootiya. The music directors were convinced that his was the kind of raw, unique voice required for Jee karda. “During jam sessions he wowed us with his renditions of Ghulam Ali's ghazals and Sufi songs,“ says Sachin.

Badlapur is reportedly inspired by a real story but Sachin-Jigar hasn't met Sriram's muse yet. “What we saw on screen was painful enough for us to pray that this never happens to anyone else,“ Jigar says emotionally. Even though the visuals are yet to be filmed, the composers are confident that Sriram will do full justice to their instant hit. “He's amazing and so is Ahmed Khan who will be choreographing the song,“ asserts Sachin. “All of us are on the same page on this one.“

And did they concur with the producer's decision to release the audio almost a month before the video? Sachin insists they were in complete agreement: “Of late, so many people have been telling us that yesteryear songs have a longer shelf life. That's because as compared to 20 films a year, today we are producing up to 600 and at four songs per film, that's 2400 songs annually. There's always the danger of your song getting lost in the crowd, so giving it time to grow on the listeners is a good idea,“ he reasons.

Who could've imagined Varun Dhawan as a revenge-seeking killing machine? But he seems to have played it deftly in Sunil Lulla and Dinesh Vijan's production, Badlapur, which also stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Huma Qureshi and Yami Gautam. The recently released teaser of the movie has generated a positive response online. While the dark setting of the Sriram Raghavan-directed film has piqued the audience's interest, what has also caught their attention is the background song in the teaser, Jee Karda.

As a result, in an unusual move, the filmmakers have decided to release the audio of the song almost a month before its video.The song will be launched online today while its video will be released in January .

About the song, Varun says, “With this track, composers Sachin-Jigar have created something special. When Dinoo said, 'Let's give the audio out', I was convinced. I believe this song will work purely because of its emotional poetry, which explains the entire film.“

Dinesh seconds him, stating, “Jee Karda is my favourite track in the film. Despite it playing only for a short span in the teaser, it has been appreciated by the online community. We felt it would be a great idea to launch the audio way before the video release.“

Badlapur, produced by Eros International and Maddock Films, releases February 20.