Tamannaah talks about her decade-long film journey, milestones, and Prabhas' advice. "Nah! Where do you have the time for love life and dating when you are working non-stop," says Tamannaah as she marks the 10-year milestone of her journey into moviedom (Chand Sa Roshan Chehra released in March 2005).

At 25, the actress has already acted in 30 films. "10 years, oh my God, that's quick and it looks like it happened yesterday. But that's the thing with age — You don't understand what is happening. I have changed a lot as a person — coming into showbiz and meeting a cross section of people from all walks of life, it was an amazing experience. But that's the privilege I had of being early into showbiz," says Tamannaah.

"As a kid, I wanted to be an actress, but ambition and reality are two different things. I remember I was shooting for the Telugu film Sri after I wrote my board exams (10th)," says Tamannaah.

Not surprisingly, the actress has no regrets of missing college life. "My college life was brief because I started working for my debut film when I was in eleventh standard. But I have no regrets as I stayed in touch with my friends who keep briefing me about the drama in the college. The opportunity to get into showbiz was so exciting, that I couldn't let it pass by," says the actress.

Her big break came in 2007 with Happy Days and she hasn't looked back since then. Talking about crucial milestones in her 10-year journey Tamannaah says, "I think, Happy Days was huge and an unexpected high point of my career. I was a newcomer at that time and I was fortunate to get such a role in the film. Paiyya was another highpoint as it opened up Kollywood for me. I did another film in Tamil Kalluri, which featured me without makeup. Initially, I was a bit nervous, but later I felt it was not a bad idea as we were shooting in Tamil Nadu at over 50 degrees in summer. So even there was a makeup, I don't think it would have stayed on my face (laughs). Later films like 100% Love and Oosaravalli were instrumental in testing my acting skills and prepared me for commercial films. Then it was about sustaining what I have done earlier. Also, dance has become an important part of my acting and my dance skills stood out in films like Racha and Rebel."

For an actress from Delhi who has made it big down south, Tamannaah's has been a forgettable run at the Bollywood. She was part of three duds in a row when films like Himmatwala, Humashakals and It's Entertainment bombed. But Tammu has no issues with the choice of films she has made. "It's Entertainment was the only film that did well. Although Himmatwala got flak and negative feedback, I was not criticised for my performance. It's just that the film did not click. But people do start comparing with the older version. So, failures did not do anything for me personally, but that was my journey and it was a choice I've made. But if the same films did well, perhaps I might have reacted differently. I don't have any regrets and that's the one takeaway from life. I actually got good exposure in my Hindi films, which made me upgrade my wardrobe and made me understand fashion better. So for me, something work out it's great otherwise, it's a learning experience. But working in multiple industries has always been a learning experience. I believe what's important for an actor is the projection where you get an opportunity to perform and do something. I'm actually proud to be able to do films in various languages."

Currently, the actress is now part of epic drama Baahubali, in which she plays a warrior princess for the first time. "Shooting for Baahubali was a great experience. The role is challenging because it's something that I never attempted earlier and nobody has perceived me in the way and that's what makes the film really special. I had to train for sword fighting and that was new for me as I have never done action scenes before. Initially, I was nervous and excited but later things became easy as I settled down. I remember Prabhas once told me 'if you can dance... you can fight as well,' laughs Tammu.