When English Vinglish released, many actors in the South wondered why such roles aren’t written for them. We do have Trivikram Srinivas’ Attharinitiki Daredhi and A..Aa that revolved around Nadiya and became blockbusters. Now director Maruthi is coming up with Sailaja Reddy Alludu (with Ramya Krishna as Sailaja Reddy) and we might hope for a meaty role for Kushboo in Agnyathavasi , again by Trivikram Srinivas.
Directors need to believe in their content and their artistes and not treat married actresses differently; .
In Middle Class Abbayi (MCA) , Sriram Venu had etched a plum character for Bhumika Chawla who is returning to Telugu cinema after a gap as Nani’s sister-in-law. Whether it is anger, arrogance, humour, fear or pain…Bhumika had effortlessly brought out the emotions in all her stories even when there were no dialogues for her.
The innocence in her eyes is still intact. Ask her if she sees South cinema coming up with strong roles for married women now and she says, “I will be asked this question over and over again but still I don’t know how to answer this. It is only in the South we feel like this. In Tumhari Sulu , Vidya Balan is not a heroine per se..she looks healthy, she has a child, is a very normal housewife, she is not dancing around trees and looking glamorous and hot. Sriram Venu did give me a substantial role otherwise I wouldn’t have done this. I would have been happy in my own space even without films.”
She remarks with an air of positivity, “There will certainly be a day when such roles will be written for middle aged women, by now we should have had a lot more different, exciting and experimental stuff coming up. They (audience) are buying what we are giving. People’s perception changes when you get married. People expect married actresses to be dressed in a certain way and carry themselves differently. I’ve been fortunate enough. I did what the director told me, the total credit goes to him regardless of how the film fares.”
There’s a visible joy when she talks about her family. “My son Yash goes to school. I have to give the credit to my support system. My cousin, my sister, sometimes my brother accompanies me I have a help…so that is fine. I enjoy working. Everything that comes along with it is such a joy. About Yash, when he sees me on screen he wonders how I got into the TV even while I am sitting besides him. I think every child finds it amusing; and it is very cute when he says he too wants to get in,” she laughs.
So will the Telugu audience get to see more of her henceforth? She responds with clarity, “I love doing Telugu cinema especially if I am not typecast. You can do the same kind role, twice or maybe thrice but not beyond that. I am not really sure if I can get into that space. I don’t mind playing 35 or 40 if I am given something substantial and if I am working with someone who is very interesting and challenging. I don’t hide my age.”
Beginning this December, Bhumika has more than four films due for release. One is Khamoshi with Prabhu Deva and Tamannah. The same is being released in Tamil with Nayantara. There is another of her old film with Prabhudeva and Prakash Raj due for release.
