Tamannaah Bhatia: 'Tutak Tutak Tutiya is an important film as I'm paired with Prabhu Deva'

Tamannaah Bhatia, the girl from Mumbai, has been having a dream run in south Indian cinema for the last one year. Bhatia has been focused on getting meaty roles and this can be seen in films like Baahubali (Telugu, Tamil & Hindi), Oopiri in Telugu (Thozha in Tamil) and Tamil film Dharmadurai. All of these were super hits, making her one of the highest paid female artists in south. Tammu, as she is affectionately referred to, is now gearing up for the release of her trilingual Tutak Tutak Tutiya (Hindi), Devi (Tamil) and Abhinetri (Telugu), on 7 October. The film is directed by Tamil director Vijay and has Prabhu Deva and Sonu Sood as the male leads. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost Tamannaah Bhatia opens up about her projects and more. You are riding quite the wave in the last one year with a series of hits. I was going through a rough patch till Rajamouli sir’s Baahubali happened. Avantika was one of the best characters that I ever played. And it was followed by films where I got meaty roles like Keerthi in Oopiri (Thozha in Tamil), and Subhashini in Dharmadurai. These were not typical commercial cinema roles; they had a lot of substance and were real, and that’s what made me evolve as an actress. [caption id=“attachment_3024508” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Tamannaah Bhati in Tutak Tutak Tutiya. Youtube screen grab.[/caption] The trilingual film TTT, Devi & Abhinetri is said to be one of the most important films in your career Yes, it is a crucial film for me and I have a pivotal role in it. First and foremost I’m paired with the iconic Prabhu Deva, which in itself is a dream come true. I play a dual role and have also a special get up which I can’t reveal at the moment. The film is important as it is my next big release after Baahubali in Hindi. I have dubbed in my own voice for the Hindi version. Why did you choose to do Tutak Tutak Tutiya instead of a straight Hindi film? My core market is Tamil and Telugu films, which has made me what I am today. When director Vijay narrated the script of TTT to me, I was hooked within 15 minutes, even before hearing the entire story. I agreed to do it as it was shot as a trilingual and had different supporting cast for the three different languages. I loved working with Prabhu Deva and Sonu Sood. After seeing the trailer, everybody is saying you are a natural dancer and have done a wonderful job in the ‘Suku Suku’ song Thanks for the compliment. ‘Suku Suku’ is also a tribute to Shammi Kapoor ji. We did rehearsals for the song for almost two weeks under the watchful eyes of Prabhu Deva sir and other choreographers. Personally, I’ve fallen in love with songs in the film especially Chal Maar, where Prabhu Deva sir dances like a dream. What next in the pipeline for you? I have Kaththi Sandai with Vishal coming up for release during Diwali and then I will start shooting for Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan with Simbu. After that, I have Baahubali: The Conclusion releasing in April 2017. I’m in talks for a few more films, but too early to discuss it. Don’t you feel disappointed that your Bollywood career has not taken off in spite of being paired with big heroes in films like Himmatwala and Humshakals? I worked hard on both these films but it did not work at the box-office. Actually Baahubali is sort of my comeback into Bollywood, as it collected over Rs 100 Crore as a Hindi film. I’m still getting a lot of offers and will chose the right one. My gut feeling is that TTT will work as it has the potential and is something different within the commercial format.