Tamasha

Drama Romance

U/A

Hindi

November 27, 2015

2hr 24min

Status: released

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In 2013, it was announced that director Imtiaz Ali will be making a film with Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in the lead titled, Window Seat.
Anushka Sharma was the original choice for the lead actress which later went to Padukone. The title was changed to Tamasha in 2014 which was taken from the lines of poet Ghalib–”Hota Hai Shab-O-Roz Tamasha Mere Aagey” (your most personal thought is your life’s biggest spectacle).
Ali said that the film is “about the journey of someone who has lost his edge in trying to conform to the society” and about “abrasion and loss of self in attempt to fit in”. He called the film “severely intense and personal” story that questions the “systems we get trapped in and crushed childhood dreams”.
Both Ali and Kapoor met Teejan Bai for the research for narrations of the Mahabharata in the film. Ali described the characters of Ved and Tara as “storyteller” and “emotionally agile” respectively. He called these characters as the closest to him.
Principal photography began in Corsica, France on 9 July 2014 and was wrapped on 30 July 2014. The song “Matargashti” was shot in Bastia. Some portions were shot in Shimla for 15 days featuring flashback sequences of a younger Ved.
Tamasha was also shot in Kolkata in January 2015, where Padukone’s office scenes were filmed on a set in the office of J Thomas & Co. Pvt. Ltd. The song titled, “Heer To Badi Sad Hain” was shot in Kolkata.
The sequence between Kapoor and Padukone before the song “Agar Tum Saath Ho” took over three days to finish as Ali felt it was “emotionally draining” for Kapoor and Padukone. Ali said he was inspired by a real girl he saw in Europe who was continuously crying on a bench and people were coming and going. Padukone did not use glycerin for the scene and cried for real. The following scenes were improvised.
The filming was completed on 6 August 2015. Tamasha was shot in 91 days in Corsica, Shimla, Delhi, Tokyo, Kolkata and Mumbai. Ravi Varman and Aarti Bajaj served as the film’s director of photography and editor respectively.
Tamasha was released on 27 November 2015 to mixed reviews from film critics, who praised the performances of Kapoor and Padukone, but criticized the complexity of the plot.
The film grossed ₹136.63 crore worldwide against its budget of ₹87 crore. Though not a huge commercial success at the time of its release, the film later gained a strong cult following, especially among the youth.
At the 61st Filmfare Awards, Tamasha received 4 nominations, including Best Actor (Kapoor) and Best Music Director (Rahman), winning Best Lyricist (Kamil for “Agar Tum Saath Ho”). At the 2016 Stardust Awards, the film won Best Actress (Padukone).