“In Many Ways Vedika of ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’ is Also What I Am in Real Life.” - Bhumi Pednekar
Bhumi Pednekar began her career as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films for six years. She made her film debut as an overweight bride in the company's romantic comedy Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), which earned her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Pednekar rose to prominence by portraying a headstrong woman in Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017), which ranks among the highest-grossing Indian films and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017), for which she received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She has already received six awards so far for her various films.
Check out the excerpts from Bhumi Padnekar’s recent interaction with the team of Apeksha News Network about her recent hit and success so far!
You are considered as one of the most versatile actors in the Bollywood industry today. How do you feel when people say this?
I think I have transformed myself in one film after another. I played a progressive small-town woman in ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’ and ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ after starting out with ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ as an overweight but self-assured young woman. I then worked in a web-series titled ‘Lust Stories’, only to later transform myself on-screen for the role of a small-town villager from Chambal valley in crime drama ‘Son Chiriya’. Now, I am excited about finally getting a chance to play a character close to my real self in ‘Pati Patni Aur Woh’. I played the role of Vedika Tripathi, and in many ways Vedika is also what I am in real life. I am sure Vedika will make an impact on people. I am a young girl who is very ambitious, and she wants bigger things in life.
So, these are characteristics about myself that I really identify with. I think for the first time, people will see how I look in real life. Thankfully, the film has been declared a major hit.
In ‘Saandh Ki Aankh’, you played a 70-Year-old grandmother. How was your experience doing such a character?
It was a very challenging role which I enacted. I must admit that Taapsee Pannu also co-operated a lot in all the scenes we did together. We are helping each other in the scenes as we belong to the same family. It was fun to play the role of the world's oldest sharpshooter.
You were not an accidental actress. Right?
The path I took was different. Initially, I did not join YRF as assistant casting director in the hope of getting launched. I would have otherwise been packed off to London to study. I wanted to enter the industry and working with YRF meant being part of the fraternity. YRF is like my film school. I have done so many things there, and it taught me a lot. I took up a role such as Sandhya in ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’ who was meant to be very fat and luckily, I was suiting the character and the rest is history. My character of Jaya in ‘Toilet - Ek Prem Katha’ and Sugandha in SMS was also very challenging, and I am happy that people have liked me in these films too.
How important is research and homework in your role that you are enacting?
As an actor, I believe in research. I do my homework before hitting the sets. But, these days, writers and directors come well-prepared, even before the script reaches us. I make it a point that whatever I do on the screen, the name of my character should be remembered and the audiences who walk out of the theatre should remember my character and my name. So far, I have succeeded in what I wanted to gain from my roles, which I have done in all my films.
Many feel that you and Ayushmann Khurrana make the best on-screen lead pair.
Our careers have met at a sweet spot with ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’. We are kindred souls and think similarly. We have become better friends now. We are both subtle actors. Of course, if a script comes along, I might take up an over-the-top role. People even shared their feedback that me and Aayushmaan don’t get married in ‘Dream Girl’, and yet they have liked it as we are true friends and that true friendship can also click in a big way. There is a saying that count your money but always count your friends, who will stand by you even when you become very old.
Have you got your dream role, which you have been aiming for?
I don’t think of hits and flops. I only think about the character, which I have to portray on the big screen so that after the end of the film, people should remember my name in the film and also appreciate what I did in the film. I can’t say if I have got any role which is my dream role, but all my roles have made many heroines to dream of getting these roles!
My dream of becoming a heroine has been realized. What more can I ask now? I want to do a nice mix of films. I grew up watching Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and the works of veterans such as Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Basu Bhattacharya.
How has things changed at your home after you becoming an actress?
At my house, I am treated like any other girl next door. My parents are very loving people. But I still have to do my work. As soon as I get up, I still fold my bedsheets and keep my bedroom clean all by myself. When my friends and relatives meet me at my house, I am the simple girl who does not behave like the actress inside me.
