“I knew the character of an overweight heroine will not be done for a very long time.” In in the midst of a meandering conversation, when Bhumi Pednekar makes this observation, one realises that in times when actors believe in instant gratification, Bhumi Pednekar is a glorious exception. She wants to play a long innings. And going by this year’s report card, she has scored 100% at the turnstiles. Both her films, Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Shubh Mangal Savdhan excelled at the box office and won brownie points from the hard-nosed critics.
In absence of any real competition, Bhumi could well be the actress of the year. Things were not as bright a year back, though. The weight of expectations that Dum Laga Ke Haisha generated had subsided, and Bhumi had to find new roots to blossom.
“After Dum Laga Ke Haisha , I didn’t know which way my life will head because my debut was with a very unconventional role,” says Bhumi as we settle for a leisurely lunch at Spicy Duck restaurant in New Delhi’s Taj Palace. “People thought that I will be a one film wonder.” She is right, and in a film like Toilet..., she seemed to have a thankless job. Had the film failed to justify Akshay Kumar’s billing at the box office, she would have been saddled with the blame along with the first-time director. “Sad truth of our lives!” exclaims Bhumi as mock ham and radish puff makes an appetising appearance.
If you look from a distance, Sandhya, Jaya and Sugandha, the characters she has played so far, seem to be cut from the same cloth. It is only when you go beyond the small town setting that you realise that Bhumi has delineated them distinctly. “Their worlds might be similar but these girls were individuals in their own way. Sandhya Verma was completely unaware what modernisation can do to someone. Though she was educated and knew the value of self respect, her dreams and aspirations had more to do with the man she was with. In Toilet... , Jaya was a firecracker. Through her, I wanted to show that clothes don’t define you as urban or rural. It is your thought. And Jaya’s thought was very progressive. She didn’t mind putting on a veil as a custom but that didn’t mean she won’t raise her voice against unjust practices. She was not a rebel without a cause.” In Shubh Mangal Savdhan , Bhumi says, she got to play an extension of herself – a pampered childlike girl. “And I played Sugandha with all the nakhras that I could summon. I just had to work to master Delhi’s accent. If Sandhya was naive, Jaya was all fire and Sugandha was in a la-la land.”
Behind the scenes
Perhaps, Bhumi could go into such details of her roles because she spent a long time behind the scenes, spotting talent, explaining characters. Before earning her big break, Bhumi had worked with Yash Raj Films in different capacities, most importantly as the assistant to Yash Raj’s casting director Shanoo Sharma. “Giving cues to around 10000 artists over a period of five-six years, helped me understand both acting and direction.” The likes of Ranveer Singh, Saqib Saleem and Vani Kapoor made the cut when she was assisting Shanoo. Not to forget, casting powerhouse supporting actors like Pankaj Tripathi and Seema Pahwa.
“There came at a time when directors used to tell me that I should try acting as they tell their young heroines to listen to Bhumi’s cues,” gushes Bhumi as she poses with stir fried lobster with ginger spring onion. Among those who were noticing her talent was the big man of the studio, Aditya Chopra. “I came to know that he and Manish (Sharma) had already told Shanoo to hone my skills.” But nothing was final. “You will be surprised to know that while I was being auditioned for Sandhya’s character, I was also auditioning other girls for the same role. One day I told Shanoo, I think I am not being honest to my job. I am also human and she laughed.” Bhumi admits when she was auditioning for DLKH, she was making the same mistakes which she used to tell actors to guard against. “I realised once you put things in a format and find that people are here to test you, you make the same mistakes. You start acting in a ‘filmy’ way. An actor can have such an impact on you,” relates Bhumi.
Munching chicken sweet and sour, one notices, that Bhumi takes a lot of time in chewing her food and underlines her habit. “You need not wait for me to finish,” she pleads. She carries the practice to her work where she spends a lot of time in the outfits of the characters and works a lot on their back stories. “I should know why this girl doesn’t like to talk to a guy who doesn’t wash his hands after going to toilet.”
One again reminds her of the dangers of sameness, but Bhumi avers, “Playing these characters help me represent 70 % of our population. I am not in a hurry to turn up in a glamorous avatar.” Also, she adds, the era of “starry tantrums is over”. “If you mingle with real people, only then your craft can improve. I spend most of my time outside the vanity van, speaking to people. You never know what you can pick from a person.” Suddenly, one felt in danger of losing some of the exclusivity. “The three scenes, two songs kind of roles are still being written but I could say no to them because I have choice. Ten years back, I would have been doing the same routine. So I am lucky to be in an era where we have writers and directors who are shaping characters like Sandhya and Jaya on a more regular basis,” reflects Bhumi.
Deep relationship with food
As her mother has her roots in Haryana, Bhumi knows where these girls come from. “Even as a teenager my sensibility was different because my parents introduced me to some amazing films. I grew up watching films like Kabuliwala , Casablanca and Mandi. I come from a family where women are celebrated. Having born and brought up in Mumbai, I am as urban as urban can be but my parents ensured that my sister and I understand social responsibility as well. ” And also the taste of noni ghee (home-made butter) and gur (jaggery). Bhumi says when it comes to food her mother has a bigger say than her Konkani father and that she has a deep relationship with food. One could sense the underlying sarcasm in the last part of the statement.
For a long time, Sandhya was seen only for her physicality. “Exactly, it took people time to understand that there is much more to Sandhya. It was not a story about an overweight girl. It was about a girl who has no complexes. However, after the film, the only thing that people discussed with me was my weight. Now I have it by heart,” laughs Bhumi referring to her process of gaining 27 kilos for DLKH and then losing 33 kilos in over a year.
Considered a useless fellow in the kitchen at home, Bhumi says, “Interestingly, all the cooking that I have learnt is for my roles.” She learnt all the household work for DLKH . “As Sandhya was doing those chores in the film, I wanted it to look natural. Then for Toilet, I learnt rolling rotis.” Now for Chambal , her next film with Abhishek Chaubey, where she is cast opposite Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi says she has learnt to make “the full meal”. We are waiting to taste!
