It has been a superhit year for Rashmika Mandanna who has followed up the blockbuster success of Pushpa 2 and Chhaava with Thamma. The Diwali release — in which the 29-year-old actor plays a ‘Betaal’ aka a vampire — has brought in rich dividends for the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU), in which it is an origin story.
Released on October 21, Thamma — that also marks Ayushmann Khurrana’a entry into the MHCU, along with Rashmika — is sprinting towards the ₹100-crore club, with Rashmika’s Tadaka — a character with agency and some serious action chops — winning praise. t2 engaged in a post-release conversation with Rashmika on Thamma and more.
Congratulations for Thamma, the film is off to a great start. You have been visiting cinema halls, along with your co-star Ayushmann Khurrana, to gauge audience reactions. What are viewers predominantly taking back from the film?
One of my favourite things is that audiences of all age groups are seeming to love the film. I love that! A film that grandparents and grandkids can both watch and enjoy is my favourite kind of film. I have watched Thamma twice already in the theatres and I have seen people laugh with abandon and enjoy themselves. That is exactly why we make films — at least certain kinds of films — and to see viewers happily enjoying Thamma brings me great joy.
Like many other female protagonists in the Stree universe, your character, Tadaka, has a lot of agency. Was that one of the primary reasons that made you want to do Thamma?
That is exactly why I did the film. Once in a lifetime do you get to play a character which is not human but is in a human form. I liked playing with something which is so unfamiliar. As an actor, about two years ago, I got into the space of wanting to play very versatile characters... I didn’t want to be stereotyped. I wanted to be a part of every film that I could possibly think I could be a part of. That is how it began.
When Tadaka came to me, I was like: ‘This is going to be super fun!’ I knew I would have a gala time figuring out this character and then playing her. I just dived into it.
The action set pieces are super fun to watch but must have been difficult to pull off. What was the biggest challenge of doing them?
I fell in love with all the rope work, I do a lot of that in Thamma. There is a lot of jumping, smashing and all of that in the film, and I thoroughly enjoyed that. The rope work is something that I learnt on the set itself.
I always knew that action was one space that I wanted to enter. I have an athletic persona and in Thamma, that came flaring out in some parts (laughs). But I couldn’t explore it fully because this is not an action film. But my next film, Mysaa, is an out-and-out action film (in which she plays a warrior) and I am fully enjoying shooting for that.
Despite being an otherworldly creature, is there anything in Tadaka that you identified with and which helped you play her?
The curiosity that she has. I am someone who is fascinated by human psychology — how we think, how we process and how we react to things fascinate me. Tadaka has not been exposed to human emotions, and so every time she sees Alok (played by Ayushmann) smiling or laughing, it is fascinating to her. She has lived in the jungle for years, she has lost touch with every kind of human emotion. However, she is still connected to humanity, in a way, because the second she hears Alok’s heartbeat, it takes her back to her days as a human.
In fact, there was a part in the script that takes Tadaka back to her human days, but that was ultimately not included in the film because of time constraints. However, as I said, Tadaka’s curiosity makes her very human. When she comes to Alok’s home, she is constantly looking at these people — how they talk in groups, how they click photos.... That sense of curiosity makes Tadaka about 10-20 per cent like me. But as a character, she was in a different dimension altogether.
You look amazing in the film, especially in the songs. You posted a series of pictures of how you had to give up some of your favourite food to get into shape for Tadaka. What was the toughest to give up?
It is always the sweets! I have a massive sweet tooth. If you gave me sweets to eat throughout the day for years together, I would be the happiest. Of course, that is not possible (laughs). As artistes, and for the roles we play, these are the choices we make to look good on screen. Today, when everyone is saying how good I look on screen, it is all worth it.
Like the rest of us, did you at least let go in the festive season?
I do have moments when I am emotionally down and I give into eating all the wrong things, but I bounce back within a few days. During the injury (Rashmika fractured her foot right before Chhaava released in February this year), I was super conscious because I knew I had to get right back to work. In terms of exercise, I am more of a runner than anything else. But with a fractured foot, I couldn’t run and so I had to control my food. In fact, I shot a song for Thamma right after my foot became okay.
You have had massive hits in the last one year — from Pushpa 2 to Chhaava and now Thamma. You started your perfume line a few months ago. What is the way forward for you both as an actor and an entrepreneur? Will it be consolidation by doing more of the same or trying to break new ground?
As an artiste, when my films do well, it brings me peace of mind. Everyone works so hard in making a film that every time a film of mine releases, my biggest prayer is: ‘God, let it do well.’ Honestly, it is not about the numbers, but I want everyone working in a film to feel that their contribution to it has been validated.
Filmmaking is really, really hard, especially when there are so many factors to keep in mind. Of course, no job is easy, but I know that as an artiste, I am responsible for the 200-250 people who have worked so hard on a film. I want them to be happy.
I also want to put in my best for the audience that is paying for a ticket and coming to watch our film in the theatre. A viewer works so hard to earn that money that he has now chosen to spend on me and my film. That is a huge responsibility to have. So when a film does well, it gives me peace of mind, I feel that I can breathe again.
Your social media bio says: ‘Kindness before all.’ Is there an act of kindness that someone showed to you early in your career that had a huge impact on you and has brought you this far?
I would like to answer this in a different way. My growing-up years weren’t exactly full of rainbows and sparkles. I also grew up being a very shy and under-confident kid. I have always believed that if I am kind to someone, they would be kind to me. I always did things hoping that one day, people would do it for me. That is where it started from — thinking that be kind to the world and maybe the world will be kind to you.
So I try my best to be kind to everyone. Some days, I take chocolates for everyone on set because I like bringing a smile on people’s faces. This is something that I have been doing since my first film. They may be small things, but they do make people smile. Being kind harms nobody. Being kind will, in fact, maybe save someone’s life.
Those are the things that are very important to me. Success is there today, it may not be there tomorrow, but I strongly feel that the residue of the kindness that I have left in someone’s heart will last forever. That is what people talk about today and that is what they will talk about even after I die. That is why I say ‘Kindness before all’. Life is too short... we need to be more kind to more people.
To end on a light note, how would two of your very popular characters — Srivalli from Pushpa and Tadaka from Thamma — react if they came face-to-face with each other?
Srivalli would probably ask Tadaka where she has come from, obviously in her extremely exaggerated style. Tadaka would probably just be staring at Srivalli because she has so many expressions on her face simultaneously at any given time! (Laughs) I think Tadaka is going to have a fun time just observing her.
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