National Award winning director Madhur Bhandarkar is known for creating iconic women characters and films like Chandni Bar (2001), Page 3 (2005) and Fashion (2008) bear a testament to it. And he has carried the bandwagon ahead with his upcoming release Babli Bouncer, where actor Tamannaah Bhatia will be seen in a fun, feisty and never-seen-before avatar of a female bouncer.
Bhandarkar says that he is usually known for his films based on dark subjects but Babli Bouncer will help the audience see a different side to him. “I am a very humorous person in real life. It is just that after Chandni Bar, people assumed that I love to do dark cinema. But when I got Babli Bouncer, I wanted to make a comedy, slice-of-life film,” he shares.
The filmmaker adds, “I felt I wanted to showcase a world of bouncers. It’s an interesting world about how these people come from their villages. On top of that, after the first pandemic hit us so badly, I felt we really need a comedy film that people can watch with their family.”
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Talking about casting Bhatia in the film, Bhandarkar had recently told Bollywood Hungama, “Tamannaah wants to explore and is very hardworking. She’s immensely talented. I hadn’t seen any of her work before casting her in Babli Bouncer. I had only seen Baahubali but that also I didn’t remember since I watched it three to four years back. When I look at a person [actor], I look for the character. So, when she came, I thought she was the perfect one to play Babli.”
Lauding her craft and professionalism, he said, “She has amazing skills. If you call her at 9 o’clock, she’ll arrive at 8 o’clock and wait. The best part about her is that she wants to learn and asks questions. She has a lot of hidden talent and if we can tap into it, she will show you a lot of variations.”
Sharing an anecdote from the making of the film, Bhandarkar continued, “During some scenes, she would tell me that she can try and go over-the-top too since she has done many South films, but I kept telling her to underplay the scenes because ours is a subtle film (laughs). And she played her part very seamlessly. I feel thankful that I didn’t watch her films, be it Hindi, Tamil or Telugu because she was starting a new journey as Babli. I saw a different facet of her. This film is going to change her fortune.”
Produced by Star Studios and Junglee Pictures, Babli Bouncer is directed by Bhandarkar and stars Bhatia in the lead along with Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Bajaj and Sahil Vaid in pivotal roles. The concept, story and screenplay has been penned by Amit Joshi, Aradhana Debnath and Bhandarkar. Babli Bouncer is all set to release on September 23 on Disney+ Hotstar in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.
