Young Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar has shown that she is inclined to choose social entertainers that win big at the box office. The versatile actress, through her outstanding performances in films like Toilet, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Bala, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare, Lust Stories, etc, has shown her inclination to represent women to be real on screen. Bhumi feels the industry still stereotypes women and she gets quite affected by it.
“I often choose films that have a strong social message but I also think of picking projects that will do commercially well. This is important because such films need to reach out to a lot of people to drive home the message and intent. I try going for cinema that kind of balances both,” says Bhumi. She adds, “When you think about Toilet, it is one of my most commercial socially relevant films. But the kind of reach the film had or the kind of impact the film had I was amazed. After the movie released, there were campaigns where fathers and mothers were at the forefront saying no Toilet no bride. That was honestly fantastic.”
Bhumi further says, “Ayushmann and I did a film together – Shubh Mangal Saavdhan that speaks of human sexuality and that is something that is not spoken about. I did Lust Stories that speaks about the gender gap, class divide and woman sexuality which is something that is not spoken at all. Women are shown as people that have no desires – no ambition, no sexual desires and that is something I again want to change.”
Bhumi wants to keep picking films that change the narrative of the representation of women in cinema. She says, “Through my cinema, I try in portraying women that exist, women that are real. Women need good representation in cinema. I see women not having the correct representation on screen. It really affects me.”
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