Director Speaks Out: Why Thamma Includes Three Item Songs

When a film like Thamma lands in theatres with bold songs, it’s bound to draw attention. And draw attention it did. With three separate item numbers in the mix, the film became the topic of debate before many had even left the auditorium.

The film’s director, Aditya Sarpotdar, recently addressed that criticism head-on. He explained that those songs weren’t just thrown in for sparkle—they were part of the film’s rhythm, world-building and marketing strategy. “All these things are marketing assets that lead you into a film,” he said, adding: “For me, when these songs appear, they’re there because my story unfolds through them.”

Sarpotdar pointed out something interesting: he says it’s the same audience that embraced similar tracks in his earlier films like Munjya and Aaj Ki Raat. “Nobody had a problem then,” he observed. “But now, because you see it happening a lot more, you feel it’s a problem. Maybe it’s just happening more often so people are reacting differently.”

The context of Thamma mattered a lot to him. Set in a vampire-themed horror-comedy universe, the director argued that the style allowed for—and demanded—a certain level of glitz, glamour and “madness.” “In a vampire film, you need a certain sense of glitz, glamour, and madness. Here, we had the chance to do that,” he said.

He also acknowledged the pre-release branding: Thamma was labelled an “item-number film” early on. “That’s a typical mindset,” Sarpotdar admitted. “Because you’ve accepted the same songs wholeheartedly before; now suddenly you have a problem with them.” But he stressed the main thing: audiences still came. “People have seen the film. So as long as you see the film, that’s the point.”

Why this matters:

• It shows how filmmakers are increasingly defending creative choices that blend marketing, narrative and spectacle.
• It opens up a broader conversation: when do item songs serve the story—and when do they feel gratuitous?
• It highlights audience expectations shifting: what was once accepted without question is now scrutinised under a different lens.