She made her presence felt with the web show Flames, but actor Tanya Maniktala marked a turning point in her career with filmmaker Mira Nair-directed miniseries, A Suitable Boy.

And recently, the 25-year-old starred in the fantasy-thriller series Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, an unusual love story between a dentist and a vampire, co-starring Shantanu Maheshwari.

Maniktala shares she was blown away by the script. She says playing the role of a vampire was quite unlike any other role or project she had done.

Talking about her preparation for the role, she reveals, “I didn’t want to go through old films for reference. I just wanted to do my own thing... my own original stuff. It’s difficult to put yourself in the shoes of a vampire, but I did my homework and was able to pull it off. Those who saw the series and liked my character in it, complimented me for doing a good job, meaning my hard work has paid off.”

The title of the series is based on the fantasy figure the tooth fairy. Ask her if as a child, she believed in it, and she says, “Absolutely, I did. I actually grew up in a joint family. When we were kids and whenever we would lose a tooth, we would place it under our pillow. I’ve done all of those things with the hope of getting some money in return.”

The actor stays in Delhi and works in Mumbai and admits she wouldn’t “completely shift to Mumbai”.

She adds, “I go back and forth because I don’t want the people or the place to be saturated by me. I do keep visiting (Mumbai) often so that I give the city no time to miss me.”

What’s your first instinct when you read a quirky script about a vampire falling in love with a dentist? If you’re Tanya Maniktala, you queue up for the screen test, determined to be a part of this imaginative world. After Flames, Mira Nair’s A Suitable Boy, and Chutzpah, Netflix’s Tooth Pari: When Love Bites promised to be a whimsical ride. Collaborating with director Pratim Dasgupta and veteran actors was the cherry on top. In a chat with mid-day, Maniktala talks about being blown away by the script, and adding her own quirks to the role.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

I got a call from Shruti Mahajan [casting director], who told me there is a cool and quirky character, and that I would be perfect for it. She asked me to test for it. When I read the script, [I wondered], who are these characters? I called up Shruti to ask what was going on in the script, and she just kept laughing. I wanted to get on board immediately, and was over the moon when I was short-listed. When I got on a call with Pratim sir to understand the world of Rumi [her character], it set the ball rolling. The plot of a vampire falling in love with a dentist seemed so funny that I was rooting for the couple.

That was a constant thought. I was drinking blood, which was a lot of beetroot juice in reality. When I got a denture made for the prosthetics, I was intrigued. I still have a set of fangs with me as a souvenir.

Boxing Tooth Pari into any one genre would be unfair because there are so many themes going on simultaneously. It is a fantasy, romance, thriller and satire.

We both were playing characters that were opposite to us, and that was fun. He is one of the funniest people I have met. Shantanu is always open to trying new things out; he’d always give me suggestions when I asked for them. He would also be respectful of my space.

It was an ensemble cast that I never dreamt [I would work with]. Often, it was difficult to stay in character because Rumi is straight-faced and composed, while the other characters are hilarious. The energy on set was always great because we knew we were creating something wonderful. I was in awe of Revathy most of the time when the camera wasn’t switched on. I wanted to learn about their experiences. They are talented actors, but they are also such fantastic human beings. It was a great opportunity to see their human side, without any façade.

After I was signed on for the project, I went back, watched some of his earlier works and realised that he has a lot to say. On set, he gives you free rein to do whatever you want. He is collaborative and interested in listening to what you think the character should do. I was like an eager kid who kept asking him if we could [add] this or that [nuance].

Some traits are written on paper, but when you are living the character, you bring in your own [flavour]. While processing the character, I found that she has a tender [heart]. When we started talking about Rumi, we came to the conclusion that she was hurt. She was still nursing a wound, which is why she puts on a hard exterior.

Even before Gangubai Kathiawadi (2022) came his way, Shantanu Maheshwari was a TV star in his own right. The Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, however, evoked in him the hunger to be a part of interesting stories. This pursuit has now led him to Netflix’s upcoming series, Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, which revolves around the unlikely romance between a dentist and vampire. In conversation with mid-day, the actor shares his initial skepticism about the world of vampires, and how director Pratim Dasgupta allayed his fears.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

I was not aware of this world because I hadn’t seen any of the Twilight films when Tooth Pari was offered to me. I was not a fan of fantasy fiction. I knew that people have tried to remake Twilight or something along those lines on [Indian] television, but they didn’t sustain for long. When they roped me in, I thought that the show would be something like Twilight. It’s only when I read the synopsis that it felt like a different approach.

I had just finished shooting for Gangubai Kathiawadi [2022] at that time. I had worked with Sanjay [Leela Bhansali] sir, so I was ready to work with anyone. He was happy with my work, which gave me a bit of confidence. The actors are all so humble and collaborative. Having been in the industry for long, they are secure in their craft. It was fun to understand their process. They were happy to express what they liked in [my performance] and how we can up the scene.

He doesn’t give you many instructions; he wants you to get in the skin of the character, and then he tweaks it. He gives you your space to perform unless you go off track. Pratim [Dasgupta] sir is easy-going, he believed in me from the beginning and I am not used to that [laughs]. Most of them are skeptical whether I can pull off a role. I take it up as a challenge to prove people wrong. Pratim sir knew I was his Dr Roy. I bombarded him with questions [to get clarity] about my character, and he answered them patiently; he was always receptive to [suggestions].

 

You can’t plan Sanjay sir for your debut film [laughs]. You can only make [informed] choices from the opportunities coming your way. The only thing I’ve strategized in my career is [the decision] of not doing daily soaps, especially the saas-bahu dramas. I got many offers, but felt I didn’t fit the bill. I didn’t want to do anything for just the money.

There is no [dancing] in this show. In my earlier projects, I said no to dancing if I felt that the character doesn’t need it. I don’t have a problem not dancing. People have the perception that the audience may not accept [a non-dancing Maheshwari], but if the maker is convinced that I can portray the character, we don’t need to use such gimmicks. I don’t think Pratim sir knew of my dancing background.

Vampire stories come a dime a dozen in the West. Indian shows have rarely explored the idea, merely sticking to adaptations or reimaginations of the popular western counterparts. But writer-director Pratim Dasgupta, ahead of making Tooth Pari: When Love Bites, knew that his story had to be rooted in Indian reality.

He says that the recently released Netflix series, starring Tanya Maniktala and Shantanu Maheshwari, stemmed from two ideas—a vampire falling in love with a dentist, and two parallel worlds separated by a manhole.

“The main power of a vampire is in its two canines. What if there is no dentist in the vampire community, and you have to go to a human dentist to fix it? That was one idea. Secondly, there is a restaurant in Chinatown, London, called Wong Kei. When you enter it, the waiters only ask [whether you want to sit] upstairs or downstairs, depending on the availability of tables. It was so popular that it became the restaurant’s identity. I decided to merge these two ideas,” says the director, who has several Bengali films under his belt, including Shaheb Bibi Golaam (2016) and Maacher Jhol (2017).

Since vampires are largely a “European myth”, Dasgupta says it afforded him the freedom to create his own rules for his on-screen world. “The common idea is that a vampire doesn’t have a soul, but in our story, they do. That’s why they are reflected in mirrors. I used them in a way that works in an Indian circumstance.”

He set his story in Kolkata, thus lending it a character of its own. Averse to the blatant cut-copy adaptations that are seen in Indian offerings, Dasgupta wanted to tell his story in a fresh voice.

“I have been very disappointed with the way some western concepts are adapted in India—they either go as Xerox copies of the original concept, or consist of heavy-handed Indian mythology that [veers] towards tantriks and godmen. I have not watched Vampire Diaries. I have seen only one Twilight film. I placed the story in Kolkata where the hospital, fashion, theatre, dentist chamber and taxis, among other things, feel real. I feel today, the more local you go, you can truly go global.”