Rashmika Mandanna is currently enjoying the success of her latest film, "Thamma," where she plays the character Tadaka. In a recent interview, she discussed her decision to take on the role and the unique challenges it presented. "Thamma" is the fifth installment in the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe (MHCU) and also stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The film hit theaters on Diwali and has already earned over ₹100 crore at the domestic box office.
Mandanna explained that she was actively seeking roles that would push her beyond her comfort zone as a performer. The character of Tadaka, a vampire-like figure, immediately appealed to her due to its distinctiveness. "I wanted to do characters which are not just variety in emotions and performances but variety in personalities as well," Mandanna told PTI. "When they came to me for Tadaka, it was just so strange and so different that I dived right into it. It is once in a lifetime that you get to play a creature which is not human in the most beautiful way". She found the prospect of portraying a non-human character creatively thrilling.
In "Thamma," Mandanna's character, Tadaka, is an otherworldly woman who saves Alok Goyal (Ayushmann Khurrana), a journalist, during a trek in the mountains. Their encounter leads to Alok's transformation into a Betaal, forcing him to confront Yakshasan (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an ancient Betaal seeking world domination. Mandanna described Tadaka as someone who is just picking up emotions through the journey because it has been so many years that she has been alive, but she has also been in the forest. So for her, human emotions and humans are a fascinating species.
Mandanna also shared a unique aspect of her character: Tadaka cannot cry, so screaming becomes her superpower. "Like she doesn't know how to cry. So all that she can do is scream. And screaming is her superpower. Like, so yeah, we've just sort of built around what we could," she explained. She said that she realized Tadaka is just picking up emotions through the journey because it's been like so many years that she's been alive, but she's also been in the forest. So for her, like human emotions, humans are, you know, a fascinating species. "Like every time they cry, she's just wondering how they're crying," Mandanna added.
The actress emphasized that she had no reference point for playing Tadaka and relied heavily on director Aditya Sarpotdar's vision. "I remember telling him, 'Sir, I'm a white slate, you tell me what to do, you tell me how to do this and you tell me how much of the emotions I need to do'," she said. "I'm basically a director's child, anything the director wants, I give... That's how I've always approached films, that's how I've always been able to give the performances that I have".
Looking ahead, Rashmika Mandanna is gearing up for the release of "The Girlfriend," a Telugu romantic drama co-starring Dheekshith Shetty and directed by Rahul Ravindran, scheduled for release on November 7, 2025. She will also be seen in "Cocktail 2" and "Mysaa".
