Tamannaah Bhatia Says South Movies Are More ‘Rooted’ Than Bollywood Films: 'They Focus On Basic Human...'

Tamannaah Bhatia is riding high on the success of her recent film, ‘Stree 2’. In a podcast conversation with Raj Shamani, she reflected on her career and shared some insightful thoughts on the film industry. When asked to compare Bollywood and South Indian cinema, Tamannaah highlighted a key difference: South Indian films often focus on more “rooted” stories, which she believes is why they connect so deeply with audiences.

In a recent interview, she elaborated further, explaining that South Indian films tend to draw from their geographical and cultural contexts, making their storytelling more grounded and relatable. “The difference I have particularly noticed is that South films talk more in terms of their geographical locations. I think their content is translating globally primarily because they are trying to tell rooted stories,” Tamannaah shared.

She went on to discuss the emotional depth of South Indian films, noting how they center on universal human emotions—love, family, revenge—that resonate across cultures. According to Tamannaah, “They don’t work from the standpoint of choosing… segments in people. They go for basic human emotions, related to mother, father… revenge on brother, sister… stories that tend to tell many more stories about basic human emotions through different storytelling formats. They are also very much concerned about putting their perspective the way it is. They are not trying to service different kinds of people. They are trying to only tell what they know fully. That has really worked, I think, for the South.”

Tamannaah contrasted this approach with Bollywood, where she feels filmmakers often try to create content that appeals to everyone, which doesn’t always succeed. Despite that, she praised films like ‘Laapataa Ladies’ for their unique narratives, which have resonated well with audiences.

Recently, Tamannaah also made headlines for her stunning portrayal of Radha in Karan Torani’s campaign, ‘Leela: The Divine Illusion of Love’. While the photoshoot was widely praised for its beauty, it also sparked controversy, with some accusing her of hurting religious sentiments. After facing significant backlash and trolling, Tamannaah chose to delete the photos from her Instagram account.

In her original post, she had written about the powerful experience of embodying Radha for the campaign: “There were times when I felt a transcendent connection while embodying Radha, and a divine force seemed to be behind it all. This divinity is evident in the campaign’s visuals, thanks to the person behind it all @karantorani. He is truly a creative genius and one of the most talented young designers I’ve had the privilege to work with.”