Exclusive – MasterChef Telugu host Tamannaah Bhatia: Viewers get to see the fun and quirky side of me that only my family and friends knew so far

Tamannaah Bhatia needs no introduction but what Telugu telly audience will get to witness is her other side on her debut TV show as a host of MasterChef Telugu. The Telugu version of the show is set to premiere on August 27 (Friday). In an exclusive chat with ETimes TV, Tamannaah talks about her love for food, the reason why she signed up for MasterChef and much more. Excerpts...

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The other three versions are having men and it’s a nice balance to have a female host. Sanjeev (Sanjeev K Kumar, creative head for MasterChef series in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam) was keen on having me on board. Prasad connected with me through Sanjeev. It was a no-brainer. I have always been a foodie. I’m glad this is my TV debut because this is something I love, understand , and resonate with. It all came together at the right time.

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I was introduced to a completely new method of functioning – which is in-ear instructions. I haven’t done that before. He has been very patient with me. I made sure we communicate in Telugu alone on the sets. This is 500th season, there is enough content to put out but we were focused on bringing a Telugu flavour, the sensibilities, and getting the nuances right in this international format.

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We were shooting for such long hours and even when I go back home, I could hear Sanjeev talking to me. This show required a lot of standing. I’ve never stood for such long hours in my life. I can spend the whole day dancing or fighting and not get tired but standing was completely exhausting.

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What I’ve also learnt on the show is how to channelize my energy. The first two days were very demanding indeed. It’s a new medium and I’m learning. It has made me only stronger. But now I know better when to conserve my energy and when not to. When I shot for the film Baahubali, it physically strengthened me a lot. I really pushed myself for it and there whatever that came later was relatively easy. Now, after doing MasterChef, my endurance levels have definitely gone up. I think now I can take up a lot more challenging stuff physically. As an artist, one must up their abilities every time there’s an opportunity.

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The idea was to tap on that fun and quirky side of me only that my family and friends knew so far. The food business in the show is all serious, the hard work of the team, contestants and the challenging tasks. That’s why my presence is a sort of relief in the show. All I could do was channelize my other side and add to the fun quotient.

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I’m the bridge between the judges and the home cooks. While the judges conduct the tasks, I help the contestants understand, connect to the audiences and get them into their element as well. Every episode, we got to see a new side of the contestants. After a few episodes, we’ve also loosened up a bit. I know every contestant very well now. They are having a lot of fun despite the pressure in the competition.

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My first memory of my love for cooking is my mom making a dosa. Cooking comes to me naturally only if I’m free and not shooting. Because most of the time, I’m traveling and I don’t have a kitchen to myself. Lockdown was a great time to sit and cook. I’ve never had much free time before.

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I’m not a great cook but whenever I do, it comes out good. The attempt is to make something my loved ones would like. Otherwise, I’m that someone who eats all the food. I would love to make breakfast for my parents. I love making smoothie bowls. That’s one easy thing I do at home. I try and make different smoothie bowls for my dad.

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Lockdown was a revelation. I actually realised my love for cooking, got time to read, and even write a book about going back to your roots, following an Ayurvedic lifestyle which I’ve been following for two years now. I’ve always believed food is one thing that gets people to bond. Be it an off day, a small get-together or any kind of occasion, we used to celebrate with food. Lockdown has been a productive period when it came to exploring my relationship with food.

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Cooking is a basic life skill. It’s just not about a guy or a girl. It has got nothing to do with your gender. It’s just our perspective and hopefully, it’ll evolve with time. There’s more of graphic presentation now and the kind of variety of health food being introduced into the market now like gluten-free, vegan food etc is something I’ve noticed lately.

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