Tamannaah Bhatia on her web series 'Jee Karda' and anthology 'Lust Stories 2'

Baahubali actress Tamannaah Bhatia has stormed into the OTT space with two big shows. While the promo of the steamy Lust Stories 2 is setting the screen on fire, her series Jee Karda (Prime Video), which explores the friendship between seven school friends, has already become the talk of the town. In an interview, Tamannaah talks about why she loves her character in the show and why it connects with the audience. Edited excerpts from an interview:

Your recent series Jee Karda on Prime Video is doing really well. It has a very Friends, sometimes even Sex and the City, vibe to it. How did you look at it when the lead role was offered to you?

What excited me most about the story was how relatable it was and how it showed the reality of urban life. People have loved the close bonding between the friends. Somewhere they feel that it’s a part of their lives. I think everyone has liked how beautifully imperfections are celebrated in the relationships. All the seven friends here have such well-sketched-out arcs. Slice-of-life genre is so difficult to attempt and to make people invest in the story they have to really love the characters. The writer and director have done a fabulous job. After my Baahubali success, people used to ask when is the second part releasing. The same is happening with Jee Karda. People are asking for a second season.

What was the most special part about shooting Jee Karda?

You know Arunima Sharma (director) and I are insanely similar as people and I wish I had met Arunima before. We bonded very well. She is a filmmaker to really look out for. This is her first show and I would definitely love to work with her over and over again. She has got a lovely perspective and it’s nice to be part of stories that have strong female voices.

Do you think OTT gives you more scope than a film to work on the character arcs?

We can’t pit one against the other. I just think the mainstream feature films have a different impact on people. It’s a different kind of big-screen experience that takes them into another world. The long format (series) gives you an opportunity to do things a bit differently, play characters which are closer to life and play them at length. Especially for women, different parts are being written on OTT. If you’re an actor who is hungry for new characters, OTT is a great space.

You’ve been working for 18 years in the industry and not just the Hindi film industry, you are also a prominent star in Telugu and Tamil cinema. As a Mumbai girl, what has your journey been like?

I really haven’t given it a thought. Since childhood, I wanted to be an actor and play different characters. The stardom has been bestowed upon me by my fans and that makes me really happy. I feel it’s my responsibility to play characters that people can relate to.

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