Bandish Bandits, created by Amritpal Singh Bindra and Anand Tiwari, was the kind of breakthrough in the OTT landscape that no one saw coming. It had big names like veteran Naseeruddin Shah and the delightful Sheeba Chaddha as part of its cast, but the ones who stole the show were newbies Shreya Chaudhry and Ritwik Bhowmik.
An unconventional casting, who truly lit up the screen with their snatching chemistry in the romantic musical drama.
It goes without saying, that the highlight of the series is the craftily put-together music album. But, the poetic landscape of Rajasthan, a plotline imbued with the essence of traditions, and a lasting legacy, makes for a soul-stirring watch.
Season 1 was released in February 2019, and it received a glowing response from viewers. In 2024, Season 2 released on Prime Video, and was embraced with equal fervour.
In an exclusive conversation with NDTV, the lead actress Shreya Chaudhry reacts to the unanticipated positive response.
She says, “I remember when we were starting Season 1, I was a novice. I knew nothing. All I believed in was that I was about to be a part of something I had never seen or heard of being made. I was just excited to be a part of it.”
Given that Season 1 was shot between Covid, she had no expectations from the series.
She says, “I don’t know what was happening at that time. Were people watching things or not? Are they in the mood to watch something like this right now? But when we released it, we saw an outpouring of love through messages and comments. I saw videos of little kids. Going to music school, people coloured their hair blue because of the character. People from older generations appreciated our work. That’s when I realised how big it was because it had an impact.”
More often than not, chances are that when a project becomes so successful, fans usually connect that one character with the actor endlessly. Take Kareena Kapoor Khan as Geet from Jab We Met.
Chuckling about the same, Chaudhry says, “Interesting question, but you know for me her most iconic character is also Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. So, it just depends on varied perspectives. But in my case, I’ve also just started my career. I think that’s why people see me as Tamanna now. Because you know, that’s what they’ve seen of me. But very soon they will be seeing Zara in The Mehta Boys. I have to convince the audience that I can be versatile.”
However, Shreya is enjoying being Tamanna off the screen.
Season 2 saw an evolution of Tamanna that was all about honing her talent better as she learnt from experts at a prestigious music school in Kasol.
Degrading titles like “Äuto-tune queen” follow her through the corridors of the institution. But it takes more than the taunting remarks to break her confidence.
She adds that she felt much more connected to her onscreen self in Season 2, compared to Season 1.
She says, “I got to live vicariously through Tamanna in Season 2. The writers have made her very real and relatable. She goes through a journey that can happen to anybody. The decisions that she makes, like going back to a music school despite being an established pop star, takes guts. To add to that, her willingness to learn was my foundation. She’s not perfect. She makes mistakes and learns from them.”
She adds, “I was also going through my evolution simultaneously at that point while I was filming Season 2. So that was like a parallel track.”
Speaking of the highs and lows of feeling connected to her role, the conversation veers towards the central themes of the storyline-love and heartbreak.
While Season 1 was all about the rollercoaster relationship of Tamanna (Shreya Chaudhry) and Radhe (Ritwik Bhowmik), Season 2 was a melange of their whirlwind romance falling through, unfortunately, with them not ending up together.
While Tamanna navigates her way through the eternal turmoil, Shreya has a mature take on how she deals with failed relationships in real life.
She says, “I’ve had heartbreaks in life. I think the best way to get over one is to move on, and not necessarily with somebody else. For me, I kind of become a little self-reflective. I think it’s very important to be okay to be by yourself, and I realized that I do kind of flourish in solitude sometimes.”
“I don’t want to be one of those who say that heartbreak is beautiful because they’re painful and I hate them. So just thinking about the good times is very tough, but think about the good times and then just move forward,” she adds.
Sharing her experience of seeing stalwarts like Naseeruddin Shah, who plays the patriarch of the Gharana family, and Sheeba Chaddha, Divya Dutta, and Arjun Rampal (in a cameo role), has been rewarding, says the 29-year-old actress.
She recalls, “They’re such passionate people. Just to see them performing is such an honour, and a great learning. Like Arjun Rampal; he has no air about him. He was so chilled about everything. He would come on set, speak to everyone and ask us what we were doing. He’s so light and affable on screen because he’s like that in real life too.”
Now that the verdict for Season 2 is out, she contemplates how life has changed after its overnight success.
She expresses gratitude, as she says, “I owe a lot to Bandish Bandits. It made me feel seen and heard. Especially after Season 2, it’s been very exciting for me to read all the comments and cherish the feedback. What’s changed, not in terms of projects coming my way, but after this particular season, I’m getting a lot of messages from women. Mostly because Tamanna goes through such a wave of self-doubt, self-realisation, falling down so many times, and yet getting up and facing her problems head-on. Leaving an impact is the greatest compliment for any actor, and I’m no different.”
As we discuss her next slate of projects, she’s feeling at the top of her game as her next—The Mehta Boys, a Boman Irani directorial, has already premiered at the Chicago Film Festival last year.
Shreya tells us how the audition went, “He took my final audition, and he gave me the time… I remember after the audition, he told me that this was not final because there was a formal process. But, to him, he had found his Zara, which is the character I’m playing. That, for me, was it!”
Shreya plays the role of famous pop star Tamanna in Bandish Bandits, directed by Anand Tiwari. The second season premiered on Prime Video, On December 13, 2024.
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