Actor Bhumi Pednekar has been working hard to help people find hospital beds, oxygen and other essentials for their Covid-positive loved ones. Earlier this year, she spoke about her first film, casting couch in Bollywood and a lot more to Kareena Kapoor on her Filmy Mirchi show What Women Want.
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00:00You know, parents ke aisaap se agar aap casting kar rahe ho, that's the big bad side of Bollywood, right?
00:06Usually, log bahut judge karte hain agar koi cosmetic surgery yaar, you know, external help lena chahta hain.
00:13Bhoomi, let's start from the beginning. Most actors transform for a role much later in their careers.
00:19Magar tumne apni debut film mein hi weight gain kar liya, which was quite commendable, you know.
00:25So, did you feel an added pressure to deliver in your second film, as in lose that weight and just kinda, you know, get your game going?
00:33I don't think people were giving me that pressure. I feel that's something that I kind of took upon myself.
00:38It was more self-inflicted and thank God for that. You know, I was very clear after Dum Naga Ke Haisha that
00:43if I don't want to be stereotyped and if I want to do versatile work, I have to knock off the weight
00:49because that was not my natural being, right? I had done it for the film.
00:53And I just had blinders on and I went on to this journey. It took me like about 6-7 months and I had it off.
01:00And my second film was with Akshay sir. So, anyways, he's such a fitness freak and, you know, he's like all about health.
01:06And I remember my first meeting with him, I was so intimidated because I had a protein shake in my hand.
01:13Oh my God! Oh my God! I was traumatized because he gave me like a lecture on how like, you know,
01:20we youngsters, we are crazy and we don't really value our health and we are not going to really survive for long
01:26if we take like all these synthetic things. And that was again a very big lesson.
01:30Pressure on the way actors look is immensely high. So, what's your opinion on getting like, you know,
01:36cosmetic stuff done to kind of, you know, look good? Like, would you ever opt for that just to fit in kind of thing?
01:43I don't know if I… I don't know. See, I feel that, you know, to each his own, right?
01:50I… Usually, people judge a lot if someone wants to get cosmetic surgery or, you know, external help.
01:59I think it's their life, it's their body, it's their face, it's their choice.
02:03You know, you should do the things that make you happy.
02:06Right now, I don't have any plan. If in future I feel that, you know, I need this thing and this thing makes me feel better about myself
02:15or increases my confidence, why not? But I do feel that being as natural as possible is the best way to be in the long run.
02:25And nowadays, so many things have come up. If your diet is good, if you work out regularly,
02:31I think you can see a certain way for a very long time.
02:36Tell me about a time where you wanted it all. Like, you've always wanted, you know, whether it's, I don't know,
02:42a particular film or a particular role that you wanted to be a part of and you actually got it.
02:47You know, honestly, I had my want-it-all moment the day Dum Naga Ke Haisha happened to me.
02:53Because this is all I ever wanted, right? Like, I did not know the probability of my dream actually coming true.
03:00Like, what were the chances? I had no idea. I had in my mind that I want to become an actor.
03:06But the day I signed that contract and the day I was told, you know, we are casting you in Dum Naga Ke Haisha,
03:12that has to be my want-it-all moment because there was nothing and there is nothing that I wanted more than my first film.
03:20Did you always want to act?
03:22Always. I always wanted to act and, you know, I had people around me that didn't necessarily understand
03:29kya yeh kaise banegi? Right? Yeh kaise hoga? And then I just kept looking for every small opportunity.
03:35And that's how my first job in YRF happened. You know, I was assisting. I was an assistant casting director.
03:41And then one thing led to the other. It was four years of assisting, doing every kind of odd job possible
03:46because I just wanted to be a part of the system. And I was a bright girl. I was always very confident that, you know, it will happen.
03:52I just didn't think it would happen with a YRF film. That was something that really took me by surprise.
03:58But now that you mentioned that you were a casting director yourself, so obviously tell our listeners that actually
04:04jo baatein bahar nikalti hai, kya sach mein itna bura hai? Is there a casting couch?
04:10Honestly, maine kaafi saal kaam kiya aur maine bahut young age pe kaam kiya hai, you know.
04:15Aur, you know, parents ke aisaap se agar aap casting kar rahe ho, that's the big bad side of Bollywood, right?
04:21But maine wo kabhi nahi dekha. Main yeh nahi kaungi ki exist nahi hota hai because jinn logon ke experiences hua hai,
04:27main unko null nahi karna chaungi because that will be very insensitive and incorrect.
04:31Because, you know, there are women that have gone through like really hard experiences.
04:37But is it a bad world? Not at all. You know, I feel films in the fraternity that we have, it's the most giving, caring, nurturing space.