‘Physical health equals mental health.’

 

Photograph: Kind courtesy Bhumi Pednekar/Instagram

It’s been eight years since she exploded on the screen in a weighty role in Dum Laga Ke Haisha and won our hearts.

Since then, Bhumi Pednekar has cemented her niche in Hindi cinema with a series of memorable roles in films like Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Shubh Mangal Savdhan, Saand Ki Aankh, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare and Badhaai Do.

On Women’s Day, the actor hopes to give out an important message, and she shares it with Rediff.com Senior Contributor Roshmila Bhattacharya, “I would like to tell every woman out there that it is extremely important to take some time out for yourself. To be healthy, to eat clean and to eat right. We all want to enjoy a long life and that’s what is going to give you longevity.”

You have excelled in many heroine-centric roles. Which character and film would you want to remember on Women’s Day?

Definitely Chandro Tomar from Saand Ki Aankh.

She is not with us anymore, but the glory with which she lived her life will always inspire me.

Whenever I have a bad day, I remind myself that Chandro Dadi broke the shackles of society and shrugged off her burdens to restart her life at an age when people generally retire.

She remains an icon of inspiration for not just me, but so many young girls and women. If she could pave a path for them, so can I.

IMAGE: Taapsee Pannu and Bhumi Pednekar in Saand Ki Aankh.

It’s been eight years since your debut film, Dum Laga Ke Haisha released, but Sandhya still makes people smile, sigh and fall in love with all over again.

Yes, Dum Laga Ke Haisha is a really special film and I’m lucky that it was my first.

You’re right, to date, everywhere I go, people tell me that they loved me in the film.

A few years ago, this outpouring of love would make me wonder, ‘Why only this one, there are so many other films that I have done too?’

But now, when I go back and watch it, I realise that it’s not so much my performance, but what the film is trying to say that has struck a chord.

Not just Sandhya, even Ayushmann’s Prem Prakash Tiwari has left a massive impact. So many people relate to it for various reasons.

Dum Laga Ke Haisha is always going to be celebrated in the legacy of films that I leave behind.

Have you ever wondered how life would have panned out had the film not happened?

I don’t know if affirmation and positive thinking works, but honestly, in my head, I always knew that acting was going to happen to me.

I didn’t know how, but I knew it would and so I never looked at an alternative career.

Even today, I don’t.

IMAGE: Bhumi Pednekar and Ayushmann Khurrana in Dum Laga Ke Haisha.

If a film like Dum Laga Ke Haisha was offered to you today, would you accept it knowing you would have to gain 30 kilos to play the character convincingly?

I would like to think I would, and do it with the same passion.

But the courage and excitement that one has as a newcomer is something special.

To go through that kind of extreme transformation, gaining so much weight and then having to knock it all off again, can be really tough on a woman.

But if the role is worth it, and if the script demands, I would.

Photograph: Kind courtesy Bhumi Pednekar/Instagram

Even without a script demanding it, you are at your fittest today. What’s the secret?

It comes from a lot of discipline.

It comes from consistency.

It comes from prioritising yourself, making time in your schedule for a workout or just some ‘me’ time.

Most of the time our profession requires us to look a certain way.

Obviously, this thought is not extended to the films I do because I am constantly trying to transform myself with every film.

But in general, I believe physical health equals mental health and I would like to tell every woman out there that it is extremely important to take some time out for yourself.

To be healthy, to eat clean and to eat right.

We all want to enjoy a long life and that’s what is going to give you longevity.



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