Tamannaah Bhatia's EXCLUSIVE interview on fashion in Bollywood: 'Shah Rukh Khan has been a style icon, Rekha is timeless'

Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has been a part of Indian cinema for more than two decades. As we step into 2026, she has entered a new endeavour that gives her the opportunity to explore new horizons. The star has entered into a new creative frontier- The Tamannaah Fine Jewellery. the brand is shaped by her innate design sensibility and lifelong connection to craftsmanship bringing together emotion, individuality, and a distinctly modern approach to fine jewellery.

Built on the philosophy ‘Beyond the Occasion,’ the brand celebrates the idea that fine jewellery should be lived in, not saved for safes or special events. It reimagines modern luxury through pieces made to move with you, where T-shirt diamonds become the new language of expression.

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In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress spoke about where the idea came from, the challenges she faced in the journey she embarked on, and the people in Hindi cinema whose style and fashion sense she admires.

Edited excerpts from the interview

This is a new endeavor that you have stepped into so how did the idea come about.

Being an actor, we get ready on a daily basis. Sitting on a makeup chair and getting glammed up is a part of our every day. I enjoy being glammed up and being like that in every part of my day. But I realized when I was doing that, sometimes I had to wear clothes that felt suffocating. And I wanted to look glamorous without having the need to wear clothes that made me uncomfortable. I started to style my casual clothes like a pair of t shirt and jeans. I also felt it gravitated towards esthetic. I just felt that India has been a very informal market when it comes to jewelry, but there was a lot in the ecosystem which was ornate and meant for an occasion. But rarely something that I could wear everyday.

This process of getting ready everyday with vintage jewelry which was not even real in material; vintage jewelry and vintage designer are very expensive and not made of fine metals. And it is not as durable. I started to build pieces of my own. And my father has also been a jeweler for the last 15 years. I started building a few pieces and wanted to know how it looked and felt. And then I felt I should explore making this into a brand and create a product which is a new way of how we consume fine jewelry. There are people who say they want jewelry they can wear everyday and not just locker ones. It was very important for me to understand how to build something like that. In my case, because this is something I have been doing for the last 20 years of my life, I understand the proportions that work on a person’s face, body. And for me, comfort is very important. Keeping all these elements in mind, we built the Tamannaah Fine Jewelry.

What were the challenges you faced when you decided to embark on this journey?

The product came first. The jewelry in physicality was right there and it was looking good. The West has many brands that does this but it’s not there in the Indian market- Basically design-led everyday pieces. But the challenge was to make a brand out of it and for that, not just the product but every communication, every retail space, the web space, every process had to be homogeneous. Bringing all those qualities to the brand has been a challenging experience. It is not about only building the product, but telling your story through the product. It is also about keeping your philosophy intact through those spaces. It was something that had to be brought out from my internal thoughts and mind.

Fashion has evolved a lot in real and cinema. But where do you see the market of jewelry in the country currently?

I feel like there’s an appetite. Your question kind of has the answer. It’s very simple. You always wear your clothes first and then wear the jewelry. In the last 10 years, fashion has evolved. How we consume clothes in general has evolved. The access has increased. But fine jewelry is a space that still operates very traditionally in India. While there is an appetite, there aren’t enough brands serving this luxury segment and aspirations of everyday jewelry. And where does this aspiration come from? It comes from design. There are enough brands doing generic stuff.

It is easy to access petite pieces within the everyday spaces because that exists very much. The point is, if someone wants that level of style, fashion, and glamour, there are not enough brands and designs doing that. Maybe Sabya is one person who has been able to crack that. India doesn’t have an imagery which is urban. I wanted to be a brand that is the face of urban India. We have a lot of heritage brands coming out. We are still the land of the Maharajas and the snake charmers; that is the imagery that we have in the global space. But we still don’t have an urban representation which I found very strange. You and I lead a very urban life. Much more urban than many people in the west. Sometimes you can do something like an urban jewelry to put that out. I hope this brand eventually does that.

What are the responses that you have received for this initiative from the industry or your friends or family?

In the movie business also, nothing speaks bigger than sales. If I have a vision for India consuming, you at least have to start with the sales being at a good place. The kind of support that I got from my fraternity, it was extremely humbling and touching. I don’t have any funding from anywhere, so everybody was really sweet, supportive and kind. Soon after, people really took on to the product. We sold out a couple of categories in the first 15 days. We are your luxury segment, so for luxury to move it takes time.

How do you see the evolution of style and fashion in India cinema?

I feel like it’s odd and I’m saying this with whole humility. While we have so much access and information, and we know exactly what is going on all around the world, we are in a time where everybody craves self expression, but there are very few people who actually have it. It has become very difficult to be yourself because you know exactly what other people are doing. Self expression should now be at its peak. Everybody should have a unique voice. People who are getting validated are people with a unique voice.

Which is that one actor, both male and female, whose style you like and admire? Who are the actors who carry themselves really well?

In men, it’s definitely Shah Rukh Khan. He has been a style icon. As a man, he wore a jewelry; remember the K jewelry that he wore? Back in the day, we didn’t see jewelry on men, and he was doing that even back in the day. He is someone who can rock even in something basic. He doesn’t have to do something extravagant, he has a great sense of style.

In women, the one person who never gets it wrong is Rekha ji. She’s literally what timeless means. And I feel a very strong voice has been Sonam. These two women and definitely Shah Rukh.