ACTRESS-TURNED-JEWELLERY ENTREPRENEUR AND DESIGNER, TAMANNAAH BHATIA IN CONVERSATION WITH RTN. PRIYA TANNA ON REINVENTING THE SPOTLIGHT
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Thanks for joining us, Tamannaah, it is such a pleasure to be in conversation with you. Guys, before we begin, I just have to say this on her behalf: all the jewellery you ever buy from her store, do not imagine that it is going to look on you the way it looks on her. So, she is possibly the worst model for her own jewellery brand, because nothing and no one can look like this.
Tamannaah, moving on. I have, of course, been following your career like anybody else who loves Bollywood. But you have had the kind of career that most actors spend a lifetime chasing and dreaming of: across multiple industries. Where people cannot hack it in even one, you have managed to straddle Bollywood, Telugu and Tamil industries successfully. You have secured both relevance and reverence, which is a very, very big thing. And now you are stepping into entrepreneurship.
What is fascinating to me about all of this is not how many worlds you belong to, but how seamlessly you move between them. I want to know your thoughts on this.
Ms. Tamannaah Bhatia:
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you, Priya. Thank you for inviting me to this wonderful meet.
To answer your question, I think we have been in a generation that grew up with the thought to “be yourself”, “find yourself” and “be yourself”. There was a very big emphasis on that. But throughout my journey, over and over again, I noticed that it was only when I did not focus so much on being myself – because we think that being yourself is actually of help – but I felt like if you look at the thought of being yourself, it is largely about likes and dislikes. It is largely about stuff you want to do or you do not want to do.
But those are constantly constructs that, while they can help you discern things, are also binding you to a point. So I feel like, time and again within my career, I focussed on how to do what was needed in that situation. Or, maybe, because I am an actor, constantly I am trying to become a character, so I am actually trying to omit myself every single time and be someone else. And I think that has helped me arrive at doing things that are diverse, and not being so attached to any one thing and feeling like that owns me.
So I feel like, I guess it comes from the fact that I was not being myself. I was trying to just be, hopefully, a better version.
Rtn. Priya:
But Tamannaah, honestly, it comes back to the conversation about poly-professionals. I do not know how many of you know this, but we live in the age of poly-professionalism. Earlier, we were taught: do one thing and do it well. We are now at a stage where we can do many things, and a lot of people seem to be doing a lot of that well, right?
As a multi-hyphenate yourself, if I have to introduce you to a room full of people: model, actor, performer, star, dancer, entrepreneur, which one instinctively feels like the most natural descriptor for you?
Ms. Bhatia:
I feel like, I think more so now than ever before, I have started meeting people as people. I have started just trying to form connections, and I want people to see me as the person I am. So inevitably, I am actually not really talking about what I do, but how I feel or what is happening in my life.
And I have some of the most amazing conversations, sometimes very intimate conversations, with absolute strangers. So I feel like I am not so married to any identity that comes with me. But I do feel that, yes, being an actor has been the first step for me to even develop an identity. So I feel like that is probably the one that will stick around for the longest.
But I do see that I am slowly being almost attracted towards wanting to create stuff of my own, which is, I feel, a natural affinity towards it. And I feel like I am going in that direction.
Rtn. Priya:
So what was the gap? I mean, India is so married and so deeply entrenched in the business of jewellery, diamonds. I mean, if you look around the room… what was the gap you saw? What was the need?
Because then there are stars that endorse products and industries. And there are people like you who have gone out there and opened a beautiful store. You are designing, you know, every collection. I think you know more than your sales staff knows.
So, what was the gap you saw in the market? What did you think was missing from the jewellery market?
Ms. Bhatia:
Akshaya Tritiya is actually very much around the corner right now. And it is a very personal story for me, because I used to be on shoot, and my mum would call me every Akshaya Tritiya and ask me, “What do you want to buy on Akshaya Tritiya?” So that was a ritual that my family followed.
And I would be in some godforsaken place in some part of the world, and I would just feel like… I have been to jewellery stores, I have been inside, and whenever I did actually go to search for things, nothing excited me. And I almost felt like, just buy a gold coin, because I was like, what else am I going to buy? Because nothing really excited me.
And to be honest, there was this one time I actually went to a proper big jewellery store on Akshaya Tritiya and tried to buy something. And my personal experience with it was that I bought it for that day. I think I wore it only on that day, and then I opened it after a year and a half, and then I saw it in the dabba.
Are there any polki lovers in this room? Polki lovers? Okay, I will not mention who the jeweller was then, but that one piece…
Rtn. Priya:
Please mention, you were the one who told me in the elevator, “Let’s make this fun.” Yes, come on, mention, mention, mention.
Ms. Bhatia:
You never know, they may be in the room. So that particular piece had turned black. So it was real jewellery. And as a child, that kind of scarred me. So I became very averse to the idea of wanting to go and shop.
And I have always, from the clothes I wore to the jewellery, picked everything myself. So my parents, I do not think they wanted to go through the process of selecting anything for me. So they were like, okay, we will buy a gold coin.
My father has been a jeweller for the past fifteen years, and that is the one thing nobody wants to see. So I was like, no, no, why will I do anything related to jewellery?
But within the twenty-one years of my career, I basically spent all my time, every single morning, waking up, getting ready, going to a shoot, becoming a character, attending red carpets. It is a longish story… I had this one really scary red carpet where I dressed up to the whim and fancy of my stylist and the designer involved. And I was wearing something so tight that I really could not breathe. And I had to leave mid-event because my stomach was hurting.
And it was really embarrassing that I had to leave the event, and I went back, and I was just sick after that. And that was a very scarring experience, which taught me that never again will glamour mean discomfort. Never again will glamour mean putting myself in a position where I feel like I am not able to enjoy the moment.
I was just so focused on trying to achieve a look. And within fashion, I am sure all of us, at some point, have done that. And everyone who is a fashion lover will always do utpatang things to achieve a look.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
You mean, suffered for style?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
Suffered for style. I have done that many times, but I think that was the last day I did that. Thereafter, I developed an aesthetic which I think really helped me arrive at what you see as Tamannaah Fine Jewellery today.
I created something called casual glamour, which is basically mixing elements that occur in your everyday life, like jeans, casual T-shirts, things that occur casually, with something that is extremely glamorous. And that just became a sort of go-to aesthetic.
And while I was doing that, I was often using a lot of vintage jewellery. And I realised that there was something very beautiful about it. It is very easy to use vintage even today. But then again, those are not really real, so the colour goes off.
Again, I had another crazy red carpet moment. Actually, it was not even a red carpet. It was the India Day Parade in the United States. And I was at the parade, and my earring just popped and fell on the floor. And a fan came back with the earring and said, “Ma’am, your earring, your earring.” So that is how I got my earring back.
And I realised vintage is also not the answer to the question.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
By eliminating all these things, you realised: I have to now do it myself.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
Yes. And then I was talking to my father, and I was like, “Listen, these are all my experiences.” And I was spending some arbitrary amount of money on fake jewellery, because that was the only kind of form I felt I enjoyed. I just did not see it anywhere within the fine jewellery space.
I felt the fine space never really thought of how we carry our hardware, like, our shoes, our buttons. The tones just never matched with the fine jewellery that I normally found in our country. We would have to go abroad somewhere and shop the kind of fine jewellery I wanted to wear.
And then I was also thinking, why has India not made a Cartier or a Bulgari? Why have we not been able to do that, considering the artisans who probably helped make these brands what they are were largely Indian? So it was always a personal question.
And while I was having this debate with my father, he was like, “Okay, you dive in, and you make what you feel is going to expand this aesthetic that you have in mind.”
And with his support, for the second time in my life… the first time was my acting career, when I was fourteen, when my father gave me wings to fly and agreed to a fourteen-year-old when she told him that she wanted to become a heroine. Because at that time, it was not like an actor-actor thing; everyone just loved song and dance. So I became an actor then.
That was my first crazy kind of moment, which my father supported. And then, twenty years later, he again supported a very, very strong passion and strong desire (Tamannaah) for wanting to make Tamannaah Fine Jewellery.
And here we are. That is why we are building this brand. And I hope I have some people in this room who are actually wearing some.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
I think somebody already is. Gopi, where are you?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
So Gopi is wearing it. That feels great. So yes, I hope I can do this for more people. Woohoo! Do you want to show? Do you want to wave a little?
Rtn. Ptn. Gopi Vaid:
I love, I absolutely love— I have loved this, and it has not come off my neck.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
Lots of love. Thank you so much for the support.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
So much of your journey is so closely stitched to movies and the kind of unusual success you have had. When I say unusual, for me, the most important thing is that you are one person who can do a song in Stree 2 and light up the country, and then you can do a very de-glamourised, meaningful role that can move an audience to tears in a language I do not understand.
And very few people, again I say this, have this range, whether it is the range of straddling across industries. And of course, there is a huge South Indian influx, so we are seeing this great movement that is happening. But you were amongst the earlier ones, and you have done it really well.
I have two questions. My first question to you is: how easy or difficult is it? Do you become different people to be in different industries? For example, the entire discipline and the whole mood of Bollywood is so different from the southern industry. You see a certain kind of movies, a certain kind of work ethic there.
Did you become different people? Or were all these people inside you, and you are just, literally, this is all forms of expression coming out for you? That is my one question.
And my second question is: what do you think was your X factor that helped you enjoy this range and longevity?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I think it is very interesting, but I am from Mumbai, and at the age of fifteen, I went to the south to work in Telugu.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
You are a Sindhi from Mumbai.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I am a Sindhi from Mumbai.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Who has not grown up learning Tamil, Telugu, none of that.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
No. So when I started to work in Hyderabad and Chennai, I started to pick up the languages and began to speak them.
But I think more than the language, at a very early age, I understood that India has diverse cultures. And ideally, to be able to represent these different cultures, language was one of the mediums. But more than that, it was really important to understand the lives of those people whom I was representing.
And they were very different from mine. The social constructs of those spaces and those cities are very different from Mumbai. So I think my constant journey has been to actually learn their culture.
Say if I were playing a certain kind of woman who lived in a village somewhere in Erode or somewhere inside Tamil Nadu, what would that woman be going through? Just understanding that was more critical for me as an actor than actually lip-syncing or saying my lines correctly, because that emotion is a lot more powerful than what you would call the academics around it.
So, I kept exploring that culture. I did not really have to become different people in that sense, but I definitely had to understand individual cultures. Hyderabad is different. There are interior parts of Andhra Pradesh where the women have very strong personalities and a certain body language.
Like southern people do a lot of gestures when they talk. It is simple things like their body language.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Articulation, everything is different.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
The way they behave is different. So just learning that was what led me to consistently deliver performances that felt relatable and felt like I belonged to them.
And to be honest, it has taken me five years to now convince people that I am actually from Mumbai. It is very funny, but I have a major identity crisis, because most people think I am South Indian.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
We all do.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
Yes, so everywhere I go, I have to explain. I have to give my full biodata.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
And what do you think… what makes you take a song and then select a movie? What is your selection process for both? Because most really big stars like yourself would not just do a song and a dance, but you did it, and you did it so incredibly. And you have done more than one.
Again, for me, that is exciting, that you are not defined by the length of your role or the lines you have or how impactful it is. You will do that and drive impact, and you will do this and drive impact.
So what do you think when you are offered a role? What is it that really excites you about it?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I think the first thing that happens with creative work is that you never look down upon the characters you play or the art that you perform.
I think a big issue with songs in the Indian film industry is that they are termed as item numbers, and people have this feeling that anything that is sexual is bad. And we, as a culture, unfortunately suffer from not being able to celebrate our own sexuality.
I think I really wanted to be that differentiator, where not everything is dirty. There is also a way of celebrating your own sexuality, which I think took me many, many years as a young girl to arrive at.
And I feel extremely comfortable now, because I actually think Indians are very, very musical. We love music and dance. It is a very core part of our culture. Hindi films, or Indian films, have always had music at the centre of their storytelling. And it is a very strong medium.
Even if I ask you right now how many full films you remember, you might not, but you will remember songs. You will have your favourite three songs from old Hindi films, and those will leave a stronger mark in your mind than an entire film could.
So I understand the power of music, and I also understand my strengths as a performer. I love dancing. I am not a trained dancer. I never trained. I never really had the opportunity to train. But I am somebody who loves to express through dance.
So I think, somewhere, it was about: one, celebrating our culture, and two, just putting a graceful twist to it. And that is what I have been trying to do with the songs that I perform.
And I love the responses I get, because I receive such a diverse response from people from different places in the world. In fact, I bumped into somebody in Spain once, and they said, “We love your song.” And I thought, okay, songs really travel. It is interesting.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Songs do travel. That is quite beautifully put. Is there a part of the industry that still surprises you, after all these years of having been in it? Something that you somehow maybe do not get used to or cannot quite wrap your head around? Is there something about the industry that still makes you say, “Oh”?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
Yes, it is like we all repeat our mistakes more than we should. So, I still see people going for the bait of doing the tried and tested because it feels safe. So, it surprises me even now, because we are in that time across the globe where I think randomness is rewarded the most.
And correct me if I am wrong, because I feel like, not just films, but social media or any space, what is random surprisingly reaches the fastest.
So I just feel like it is kind of strange to see people wanting to repeat themselves versus trying something completely unpredictable.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
I am coming back to jewellery, but I am going to talk about the entire transformative process, right?
You have been used to being in front of the camera, you are used to being this actress, you are used to being a star, the red carpet, all of that. And then you decide to get into a business, which is quite different, a different world. Yes, you have seen your family in it, your father has been a part of it, but actually sinking your hands into it, getting down to it, and figuring out that now you are going to run this as a business.
It is one thing to just launch something. The easiest thing to do in this city is to launch. And then the hardest thing to do is to see it through with a certain seriousness and diligence, which you are already showing as far as Jewels by Tamannaah is concerned.
So my question to you is: how easy was it to jump from being a right-brained creative to being a right-brained entrepreneur? Was it an easy process? Did it require any preparation? Did it require a new kind of discipline?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I think, for me, I started working on the business only when I felt I had a substantial number of answers. There came a point where, if anybody asked me anything about my brand, I would have an answer. And I feel like that is when I really started setting it up altogether. I felt like I was ready in that sense.
But of course, one thing that comes to me from my acting career is that it has definitely taught me how to take criticism correctly. And, as an actor, many a time we are reading between the lines, even when people do not say anything. The way they look at something, how they react to something, constantly gives me feedback without me even having to have a conversation.
I think that entire process, of me being an actor, has really helped me create this brand today, because I try to understand people before they can speak. And when they do speak, I listen very intently so that I can take feedback fully and improve the processes while giving them the experience through the jewellery brand, both in-store and while building the product.
Many a time, even in the recent past, in fact, it would be interesting for you to know, Priya, I have created products because someone came to the store and said, “Actually, I would have needed this.” So, I made a version that suited that person’s imagination.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Wow, that is interesting.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
So sometimes the consumer actually gives you an idea of what they want, and then you just use your brand aesthetic to interpret it.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
But Tamannaah, as a founder, was there any part of acting that helped you do this well? Was there any advantage? Of course, with a face like that, you can sell a lot of jewellery, you can sell anything. But was there any part of your acting journey that helped, informed, and powered your journey as a founder?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I think more than my acting career, it has been my fashion search that has led me to this.
But I feel like just understanding the human anatomy has really helped. I truly believe that nobody is going to buy my product because I am Tamannaah and I am selling this brand. I do not think anyone is willing to put that kind of money down for fine jewellery just because of my name. I feel like the product had to be the hero. It was never about me.
While I have my acting career, that is a different space. I have never approached the jewellery brand as a celebrity-led brand. I have approached it as a founder would.
Within fashion, what I learn on a daily basis is human anatomy and understanding how certain silhouettes suit certain people, how certain tones suit certain people. Just looking at myself, my peers, and my contemporaries doing this on a daily basis has given me a lot of information and data to actually build pieces that will universally suit people.
So the mistakes that we have made and learnt from while styling ourselves, I feel like the jewellery pieces are created from that space. They help people style themselves so that they do not have to do the heavy lifting of thinking how to do it. We do that for you.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Right. When I came to the store, and I saw a lot of jewellery as a part of my job, I think what stood out for me was the ease. Every piece was an elevated, easy, everyday piece. It was elevated, it was glamorous.
And when I spoke to you, you said something so interesting. You spoke about how every woman should be able to sleep in her diamonds. Do you want to talk about that? What do you mean by that?
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I am a lazy person. I like to sleep in my diamonds. So, I thought we should make jewellery that people do not have to keep taking off, because I am changing clothes thrice a day. I just do not want to do that with my jewellery.
RAPID FIRE
- Is there a piece of jewellery you wear purely for yourself and not for how it is seen?
I think I have a lot of hoops. Yes, all my hoops I wear for myself. - If you were a piece of jewellery, what would you be?
That is a very hard one… a tiara. Oh my God, thank you so much. I do not think I could have come up with that. That is brilliant. I am in love. I think I need a tiara also. I never knew I needed one, but now I think I do. - A script, out of all the movies you did, that excited you so much that you said, “Okay, I have to do it at any cost?”
I mean, Baahubali. It was just a magnum opus. - A role that scared you the most, from all the roles you have done, for various reasons. It could be how challenging it was, how much of a departure it was. Any one specific role that really scared you?
I did a Tamil film called Devi, where I played a very traditional homemaker. And I feel like… I do not think I even looked like the character if you saw me like this. But I had to really physically transform and also understand that world.
It feels like, “Oh, that is just an everyday Indian woman,” but I feel it is the most nuanced role I have had to play. And I find that these very simple women are the hardest to portray, because they are so pure that there is no part of you that can engineer that. You must embody that kind of purity to be able to be that. So I feel like that character was the most difficult for me. - Any role you turned down that you now regret?
I had this one Telugu film. I do not know if there are any Telugu people in the house; nobody would know. Back in the day, there was a film with Prabhas, pre-Baahubali, much earlier in my career. It was called Mr. Perfect, and I could not do it.
And my very dear friend Kajal Aggarwal did the film. And when I saw it, I completely regretted not doing it. - If a movie were made on your life, who should play Tamannaah?
I definitely think a new actor should play it, because… I do not know anybody in the present lot who would make sense in this. Do you have thoughts on who could have played it? I think somebody like Ananya, somebody young. If Alia Bhatt were starting her career today, maybe a very, very, very young Alia. - If your wardrobe could talk, not your physical wardrobe, what would it complain about you?
I could edit more often. I think I really need to do that. I am not actually a hoarder, but I feel like I have an organising problem. I like everything to be properly organised. So if it is not organised, even while I am talking to you, somewhere in my mind I am thinking, “I should have just put that back into the drawer.” I always have that one track running in my head. - If all the men in this room had to gift only one piece of jewellery designed by you for their partners, what would you tell them to buy?
There is this one piece of jewellery that I really wanted to wear today, but it sells out every time I make it. Even the day you came, it had sold out, and again, it has sold out. It is a multi-hoop. I am very proud of that design because it comes out of my very big fear of piercings. I am very scared of piercings, so I only have one. And I made a piece that is quite large, and it works on anybody who has piercings and who does not have piercings. And it gives you a really bold look. It is a gold and diamond piece. - My last question before the President takes over: what do power and success feel like to you today, compared to what they felt like when you started out or when you had your first big hit? What is your ambition right now?
I believe in the word niyati. We have all heard of the word niyati, right? So niyati means destiny. And the word niyati has the word niyat in it, which means intention.
So, I feel like whenever I have had the right kind of intention around something, it has translated for me. And if I ever tried to be a little clever about it, it has always failed.
So, I realised that it is good to have the right intentions. And whenever I have done that, it has worked for me. So, I feel like that is what success feels like today, where my intentions are very aligned with what I want, and I am seeing that translate.
And that is very rewarding, because it is so difficult when you want to do something and you are not aligning with what you are arriving at. That is very frustrating for most of us, where we try but do not get where we really want to.
So, I feel like I am at that phase where my intentions are really aligning with what is happening, purely because of how I feel about it and my actual intentions around it.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
Quite beautiful and deep, Tamannaah.
ROTARIANS ASK
- I wanted to ask you, are you going to continue acting while building your jewellery brand? And what is your long-term intention going forward?
I am actually working on four films. One is a Tamil film, and three are Hindi films.
So yes, I am continuing. Interestingly, I am also at a sort of second phase in my acting career. I am quite excited about it right now, because it is giving me opportunities that people really crave for at their peak.
So I think this is an opportunity all over again to create some sort of impact. So yes, I am going to do both.
And I feel like, while I have been building Tamannaah Fine Jewellery, I also realised it is so important as a creative to explore multiple creative avenues. I actually feel like I want to attempt music now. Not to perform professionally, but just to learn, because I feel that might lead me to another aspect of design or creativity.
Artists are not singular in their artistry. It is nice to try different things, because it leads to something more.
Rtn. Priya Tanna:
So now it is going to be music by Tamannaah.
Tamannaah Bhatia:
I want to learn. It is more like a leisure activity. I do not think anyone would want to listen to me. So I will probably be at home making sounds. If I am any good at it, I promise I will come and sing.
- Tamannaah, why is it that South Indian cinema has gone streets ahead of Bollywood? Over several years now, whether it is OTT, technical aspects, acting, or storylines, what has made South Indian cinema so much better?
I think they are very true to their roots. They are very connected to them and know how to represent them. They are not trying to be something else, which naturally translates into something very organic. The stories feel extremely personal, and the more personal they are, the more impactful they become. So, I feel like that is happening across the board.
And in my experience, especially working in the South, they are extremely technically sound. For example, when we see certain kinds of VFX today, they have been using VFX since it was very primitive. So there is a lot of preparatory work that has gone into that space. Even though technology is getting better every day, it is not just about the technology; it is about the technique of using it.
And I feel like the filmmakers I have worked with in the South have an unbelievable command over technique. That is why they are able to create scale while retaining emotion. They are not taking away emotion to give you scale, they are giving you both at once.
- Most film stars who launch brands eventually liquidate them at high valuations. There is one on the block right now as well. Since you like Rotarians so much, would you let us know in advance so we can consider investing?
So you want to buy me out, sir, or you want a stake?
To start with, I would really like to put India on the global map when it comes to fine jewellery. That is my endeavour.
And I think I will breathe comfortably the moment I arrive there. But yes, it was a very conscious decision to name the brand after myself, because it is an extension of who I am. It is extremely personal to me.
Of course, in the long term, you want something to scale to its full potential, and I am sure that time will come. But the bigger goal here is to create a certain impact within the industry.
And I truly mean this when I say it: I want to see India wearing fine jewellery differently. I hope I can make that change.
- Who is the best director you have worked with?
Actually, a rather underrated filmmaker is Sundar C. I am working with him right now. It is my third or maybe fourth film with him.
He is someone who understands VFX in a way I have not seen many people do. He has been a filmmaker for over twenty years and has been doing this beautifully.
He primarily works in Tamil cinema, but I think he is one of the finest filmmakers I have worked with.
- What makes South Indian stars enter politics? And do you see yourself doing that someday?
Actually, I do not have any inclination towards politics. I also do not think I have enough knowledge about it.
But I assume those stars have received so much love from people that they genuinely want to make a difference. And when you have that kind of influence and power, which is organically given to you, you may want to use it effectively.
So I hope that is their intention. You will find me in my jewellery store. I never say never, though. I truly believe in that.