Talented Marathi and Hindi film actress, Sai Tamhankar, is now making her digital debut with Zee5 Marathi thriller, Date With Sai.
“I play myself in this fiction-nonfiction mix. It traces what happens when a fan stalks Sai. It is often joked that having someone follow you 24*7 is fun, but trust me, it is not. You really get drained mentally. Having said that, no women should succumb to it; rather, she must fight back using all the support available (police and social media etc.).”
“Being myself was a challenge, but my director friend, Nyanesh Sote, helped me along. I also enjoyed doing stunts, which I had been waiting for aeons to do on screen.”
“Working in a web series is really liberating, for you are no longer bound by censor board and channel S&P guidelines. Also, we’re now at the cusp of a digital revolution. Soon all types of content will shift online, so it’s a good start for me.”
Looking ahead, she will be game for more web series, and unlike other actors, she is not really bothered about s*x and abuse scenes. “For me, that is not the criteria for selecting or dropping a film. I have no qualms about bold content, if required by the script.”
Sai, who has done several hit Marathi movies (Dunyadari, Zapatlela 2 and Time Please), is happy that Marathi cinema is finally coming of age. “We always had great stories, but yes, our budgets and reach was on the lower side. It will soon even out hopefully, fingers crossed.” She had debuted in Hindi with Black and White, back in 2008.
Although Sai got name and fame, courtesy Hindi s*x comedy Hunterrr, she also got typecast, getting similar roles. “Women-trafficking film, Love Sonia, gave me a chance to show a different side of me. There was also great critical acclaim and international screenings.”
However, here Sai admitted that since the latter did not get commercial success, “It did not really change the ball game for me. But we always knew that the genre was niche.”