I am a wanderer: Tannishtha Chatterjee

In a sea-facing apartment at Versova, Tannishtha Chatterjee looked very excited  as she took out her outfits that she wore to Berlinale (Berlin Film Festival), where her upcoming flick with Abhay Deol was premiered recently.

She says smiling, “I am a wanderer since childhood as my dad worked as an engineer with a Japan-based company, so I grew up at different places like Delhi and Kenya, Australia. Therefore I’m always ready and packed.”

She likes shopping for shoes and has a collection of stilettos bought from all over the world. She admits that she likes  keeping up with trends but maintaining her individuality.

When asked about her  character in the film, she says, “When Dev (Benegal) signed me for the movie, he said ‘she is a gypsy woman, a wanderer.’ The character I play is a lady, who is clad in a simple ghagra-choli with a blanket on her head and a mojri. When we were shooting I thought I would die as the temperature at Jaisalmer was 52 (degree Celsius) with a blanket! I refused at first but my costume designer said that it will in fact protect me from the scorching heat and it just did that. Strange, right?” she asks, adding, “I wore no make up, just kaajal and some glue on my lips and skin to make it look parched. I never changed into some other clothes until bed-time; I was so habituated to that outfit that one day in the hotel room when I changed into my swimwear and went to the poolside, Abhay said, Oh god! I just couldn’t recognise you.” She laughs.

When asked about her film with Lucy Liu, she says, “It was a great experience working with Lucy, she is such a warm person. My film is named Meena and is based on the famous book, Half the Sky. It is on human trafficking in different parts of the world; my  story is based in India.

“These are real life stories of women who go through all the hardships but emerge as winners. Meena, for instance, was sold to a brothel at the age of ten. I had to wear very simple sarees, I was also required to do lots of stunts, so I was wearing a saree with hip pads and knee pads. In the beginning it was little
uncomfortable but later I got used to it. The make-up was  minimalistic too. Working with Lucy was brilliant. As long as she was here she used to dress in simple kurtas and leggings with flats. Many a times she took an auto to go back to the hotel,” she ends.