Tamannaah says Baahubali has transformed her. “The way I look at myself has changed because of the films. I ask many more questions today. I think I trouble my directors a lot more by asking for explanations. Above all, I have realised how one person’s faith in you can change your own faith in yourself,” says the actress, who plays Avantika, a female warrior, in the films.
Talking about how Rajamouli’s films have been different from her previous work, she says, “I was exposed to a different type of technicians. Though I’ve worked with them previously, what we have managed to create here is something else. We were all given instructions and at the same time, we were given creative freedom. Sometimes, when, as an actress, you get cornered by a filmmaker who tells you exactly what you should do, you can’t do much. But when you’re given freedom, you can explore yourself.” The films have made her braver. “I used to be very scared. I would refuse to jump from a table. It has all changed now.”
Post the release of Baahubali: The Beginning, there was some controversy over her the disrobing of her character by Mahendra Baahubali. “That’s when I realised how we all perceive things differently. For me, the scene was about how she comes in touch with her feminine side. A woman is so many
things. And this flowering of her womanhood, I thought, was a beautiful
experience. Rajamouli may be a big fan of revenge, but he also loves the tender side to characters.”