When a woman runs a show, there’s a different perspective’

Actress Sai Tamhankar, who has created
her niche in the Hindi and Marathi
film industries, speaks with
The Pioneer as she speaks of her
much-anticipated Dabba Cartel and more insights on her working style.
Tejal Sinha
Sai Tamhankar has been in the film industry for 16 years, yet she is still relatively new to Bollywood. How, you wonder? Well, every time that she’s on screen, she certainly brings a new face and new life to every character that she plays. For instance, her upcoming project, Dabba Cartel, has been creating quite a buzz ever since its announcement. Her character brings us a never-seen-before avatar of the talented actress.
With the immense anticipation for the series Dabba Cartel, Sai herself has also been very excited. Basically, it was the story that inspired her. And then, of course, she says, “Shibani Dandekar is the showrunner of the show. I think when a woman runs a show, it brings a different perspective, and also, this entire thing is led by women. I really like when women drive something; it becomes multi-dimensional.” Dabba Cartel is a riveting tale that propels five ordinary women from their routine existence in a quiet colony of Thane into the murky, unpredictable life of the underworld. A woman-led crime drama is not something that we generally get to see, and that was something that intrigued her pretty much.  Sai had also gained much traction for her role as Shama, Kriti Sanon’s friend, in the award-winning film Mimi, which was about a surrogate mother. While in the film she played her friend, it was in Anubandh that she herself played the character of a surrogate mother. She feels that it has certainly changed her perspective on motherhood and children over the years. “Earlier, I would love only children who would smile and be happy children, but after doing Anubandh, I started admiring and appreciating seeing children in a different light. If there is a human unconditional love, it is motherhood. There is nothing else in the world. Mujhe aisa lagta hai ki Maa apne bacche ko pyar karti hai woh unconditional hota hai (I feel that a mother’s love for her child is unconditional), and we don’t see such unconditional love in human form. I think the human race is very selfish, and we think about ourselves and never think of how challenging it is for the person who is the mother. At some point, they just lose their self-identity and only look after their family. It isn’t something forced; it happens naturally. That’s something magical.”
She’s always been someone who says ‘what’s next’ and does not delve into the glory of time. “I am always curious and want to work; I cannot sit still. If I am sitting at home for more than four days, I get really restless. I love my work from the bottom of my heart, and I am the happiest person when I am on the set. So, sometimes my friends and my loved ones have to make me realise that, Listen, girl, slow down, take a deep breath, let it sink in, appreciate a little how far you have reached.”
In fact, she’s someone who is rarely pleased with herself! “These are rare moments, but there are. These moments come once in a blue moon, and I like the fact that it is hard to please myself. It’s only about me. Dusro ko appreciate karne ki bari tho fatt se hota hai khud ko appreciate karne mein bahut time lagta hai (Appreciating others happens quickly, but it takes a lot of time to appreciate yourself), and when that moment comes, it is really satisfying, it is reassuring, and it is self-motivation does not come every day, but when it comes, it’s really nice.”
She even recalls a time when she literally thought of giving up and leaving everything to pursue her MBA degree. However, her destiny had different plans. And she says it’s very important for one to accept their sadness, just as one accepts happiness and explores the different colours
of life.
Going ahead, she recalls a time when she was extremely frightened of being typecast. “I was extremely scared after Hunter because I was being offered similar kinds of roles. Thankfully, I waited until I got something different than that role, and that was Love Sonia. So yes, it’s a natural fear, and you should be able to maneuver these things or carve your own paths among these difficulties.”
As an actor, she’s someone who has no fixed process for choosing a project. It could be due to its story, set-up, director being your friend, or a script that is challenging and brings you a different part than the ones played in the past. However, over the years, Sai, who has Agni, Ground Zero, an untitled web series on Hotstar, Dabba Cartel, and a few Marathi projects, says on a concluding note, “Over the years, what I have realised over time is that it is very important to what phase you are in in your life. Sometimes you choose projects as per your mental space, and what you are going
through in life can also sometimes determine the choices.”