Indian actress Tamannaah Bhatia, who made her digital debut with the glossy web series ‘Jee Karda’ on Amazon Prime Video, credits the show’s roaring success to her endearing character that’s equal parts fabulous and flawed.
“Lavanya in this show signifies most of us, at least the entire millennial bunch of us,” said Bhatia in an interview over a video call with director Arunima Sharma and actor Suhail Nayyar.
“We were sold an idea of a timeline for things [like marriage and parenthood] in our life. We were sold an idea of how it should be done as well, and we were given limited options, and we had to choose among those options alone,” she added. The ‘It’, in this case, is a wide net on when to get married, when to have babies, or when to retire.
In the show about seven thick childhood friends learning to adult and navigate life, love, heartbreak, and loss, Bhatia’s character – ambitious and collected -- seems to be the sturdiest one in the gang. She’s blissfully engaged to her childhood sweetheart and the ever-dependable boyfriend Rishabh Rathore (Nayyar) of 12 years, but suddenly seems to have developed a case of bridal jitters and is often seen questioning her decision to get hitched.
“You are made to feel like you have to make a choice, otherwise you are doing it wrong. So the confusion arises from the fact that you are not actually identifying with these things that are sold to you – but a part of you believes it,” said Bhatia. She’s alluding to how young women – even if they are fierce on the job front and are doing well in their careers – are often told to marry before they cross their thirties.
“Lavanya’s internal conflict of what she has been sold since childhood and what she really believes in makes her character and her journey appealing. And I am not talking about being in love particularly but in various aspects of life,” said Bhatia.
Directed by Sharma, the eight-episode series features compelling talents including Anya Singh as Preet Chuharmalani, Ashim Gulati as the rakish pop idol Arjun Gill, Malhar Thakar as Sameer Kotadiya, Samvedna Suwalka as Sheetal Kotadiya, and Malhar Thakar as Sameer Kotadiya. It’s your typical coming-of-age web show. The series shines a spotlight on their love lives and personal journeys as they enter their thirties.
Like most risqué web shows that are streaming now, these characters aren’t perfect prototypes of an ideal friend or partner, and are flawed, vulnerable, and humane. Both Bhatia and Nayyar, who play loved-up partners in this series, believe that the show spoke to them on many levels. Their unraveling of their characters as the series progresses made them relatable, believe the actors.
“Even in my own life, several ideas were sold to me but I didn’t confine to it. So when I played Lavanya, I understood her confusion and where it all stemmed from. This want for perfection in our everyday life is problematic. Nothing is more perfect than being yourself, and that’s my biggest takeaway from playing the role, and I hope Lavanya realises this by season 3,” said Bhatia with a laugh.
Incidentally, the second season details are yet to be announced, but fans are already clamouring for more.
'Jee Karda's is a coming-of-age tale:
For director Arunima Sharma, the series ‘Jee Karda’ was a reminder to all those thirty-somethings that they are not alone in their journey of discovering themselves and cruising through life’s bumps and curves, with their close mates in tow.
“The whole idea of ‘Jee Karda’ was to make it relatable. The show came from our individual and collective experiences as a generation among our co-writers and my friends … The show is not just about any major event. It’s about a million small things, and we have strung it together,” said Sharma.
The director grew up on a staple of iconic Bollywood romances like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol’s ‘Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge’ and other mainstream Hindi films.
“But the love stories in my life didn’t turn out to be like that … I made my share of mistakes … The characters in this show are also grappling with life. Being 30 is a weird age. You are not too old and you are not too young either,” said Sharma. Her inspiration was to give a contemporary spin to all those nuanced, beautiful, done-to-death friendship film genres. ‘Jee Karda’ is based in our current times, and her biggest challenge was to innovate and not seem performatively woke.
“I just took the goal of being honest to the chosen characters and their stories. I didn’t want to do anything gimmicky … And I knew that I would just screw up my own debut if I pretended to be someone I am not. The idea was not to be woke, cool, or hip,” said Sharma.
For Bhatia, who has worked with actors including Rajinikanth and Prabhas in films such as ‘Jailer’ and ‘Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion’, this series helped her play a role that was closest to her in real life.
“Just like me, Lavanya is clear about a lot of things about her life … The friendships that you see in the series are the kind of friendships I enjoy. In a way, I got to relive my life in some capacity through this show. And I will cherish that,” said Bhatia.
Don’t Miss It!
‘Jee Karda’ is streaming on Amazon Prime Video now.
