Exclusive: “I love being called Tamanna off-screen,” says she bandish bandit actress shreya choudhary

bandish banditCreated by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, it was a breakthrough in the OTT landscape that no one saw coming. The cast featured big names like the veteran Naseeruddin Shah and the beautiful Sheeba Chaddha, but the show stealers were newcomers Shreya Chaudhary and Ritwik Bhowmik.

An unconventional casting that literally lit up the screen with its sizzling chemistry in the romantic musical drama.

Needless to say, the highlight of the series is the expertly crafted music album. But, the poetic landscape of Rajasthan, the essence of traditions and the story imbued with an enduring legacy is soul-stirring.

Season 1 was released in February 2019, and received a great response from the audience. In 2024, Season 2 released on Prime Video, and was received with equal enthusiasm.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, lead actress Shreya Chaudhary reacted to the unexpected positive response.

She says, “I remember when we started Season 1, I was a newbie. I didn’t know anything. I just believed that I was going to be a part of something I’d never seen before. Hadn’t heard of it being made. I was just excited to be a part of it.”

Given that season 1 was shot amid Covid, he had no expectations from the series.

She says, “I don’t know what was happening at that time. Were people watching things or not? Are they in the mood to watch something like this right now? But when we released it, we felt so much love through messages. Saw the flood.” And comments. I watched videos of little kids. When going to music school, people dyed their hair blue because of their character. Then I realized how big it was because of the impact it had.”

Often, chances are that when a project becomes so successful, fans usually associate that one character with the actor endlessly. Take Kareena Kapoor Khan as song when we met,

Laughing about this, Chaudhary says, “Interesting question, but you know his most iconic character for me is also Poo.” sometimes happy sometimes sadSo, it just depends on different viewpoints. But in my case, I have also just started my career. I think that’s why people see me as Tamanna now. Because you know, that’s what they’ve seen about me. But soon they will see Zara mehta boysI have to convince the audience that I can be versatile.”

However, Shreya is enjoying being Tamanna off screen.

Season 2 saw Tamanna’s growth which was all about honing her talent as she learned from experts at a prestigious music school in Kasol.

Derogatory epithets like “Auto-Tune Queen” follow her through the corridors of the institute. But it takes more than taunting comments to shatter her confidence.

She further adds that she felt more connected to her onscreen image in Season 2 compared to Season 1.

She says, “In Season 2 I got to live vicariously through Tamanna. The writers have made her very real and relatable. She goes through a journey that can happen to anyone. She “Despite being an established pop star, it takes courage, her willingness to learn is my foundation. She makes mistakes and learns from them.”

She adds, “When I was filming Season 2, I was also going through my own growth. So it was like a parallel track.”

Talking about the ups and downs of emotions associated with his role, the conversation turns to the central themes of the story – love and heartbreak.

While season 1 was all about the rollercoaster relationship of Tamannaah (Shreya Chaudhary) and Radhey (Ritvik Bhowmik), season 2 was a mix of their whirlwind romance, unfortunately, they did not end up together.

While Tamanna finds her way amidst the eternal turmoil, Shreya has a mature take on how she deals with failed relationships in real life.

She says, “I have had many heartbreaks in life. I think the best way to get over it is to move on, and not necessarily with someone else. For me, I tend to be a little self-reflective. I think it’s very important to be okay with being alone, and I realized that I sometimes thrive in solitude.”

“I don’t want to be one of those people who says heartbreaks are beautiful because they’re painful and I hate them. So it’s very hard to only think about the good times, but think about the good times and then move on Grow up,” he added.

Sharing my experience of watching legends like Naseeruddin Shah, who plays the role of a patriarch household The 29-year-old actress says family, and Sheeba Chaddha, Divya Dutta and Arjun Rampal (in a cameo role) have been beneficial.

She recalls, “They are very emotional people. It’s an honor to watch them perform, and a big learning. Like Arjun Rampal; there’s no opinion about him. He’s very calm about everything.” He used to come on the set, talk to everyone and ask us what we were doing, he is so light and friendly on screen because he is like that in real life also.”

Now that the verdict on Season 2 is out, she reflects on how life has changed after her overnight success.

She says gratefully, “I owe it a lot bandish banditIt made me feel seen and heard. Especially after Season 2, it has been very exciting for me to read all the comments and cherish the feedback. What has changed, not in terms of the projects I have coming up, but after this special season, I have been getting a lot of messages from women. Mostly because Tamanna goes through such a wave of self-doubt, self-realization, falls many times, and still gets up and faces her problems head on. Making an impact is the biggest compliment for any actor and I am no different.”

As we discuss her next projects, she’s feeling on top of her game as her next-mehta boysThe film directed by Boman Irani was premiered at the Chicago Film Festival last year.

Shreya tells us how the audition went, “They took my final audition, and they gave me time… I remember after the audition, they told me that it was not the final because there was a formal process. But, they , he had found his Zara, which is the character I play, that was it for me!”

Shreya is playing the character of famous pop star Tamanna in it. bandish banditDirected by Anand Tiwari. The second season premiered on December 13, 2024 on Prime Video.