and this whole debate that you're a star kid, you're a filmy person, non filmy person
you might get the opportunities, but to survive is only you, no mom or no dad your talent will take you forward
100% i think who hasn't, you are too short its a problem, if you're too tall its a problem, if you're too hairy not hairy
fair, dark everything is a problem
during Saand Ki Aankh i got barrage of tweets you know where the ageism debate started and then we had a
whole bunch of tweets then people were like you know we loved you and Taapsee and we really want to put an end to
and the same people who tweeted about ageism controversy
it wont be wrong to say, that in the industry today women are completely changing the narrative
one of those women who are doing so and how is Bhumi Pednekar, so Bhumi like i have said last time also
we have been meeting which is a great thing, I've introduced you like I've always seen you, you know
and even when you debuted there was a certain sense of validation that you got from the audiences in terms of
how you were changing the narratives, you know how difficult was it for you to make it? the struggle
no i think my formative years are still on, this year has been a very its been a break through year for me in ways
you know , i have not done very many films i am still like its literally been 3 and half years since I've been in the fraternity
and 10 roles I've gotten a chance to play and i feel very empowered as an actor today the fact that my the
work that I've done has been so varied and wherever i am is because of the choices I've made and this is only happened
because there's this sudden awakening for good content yeah
its also a great time to be an actress because times are shifting um but when you still work you have such a
great body of work does it still hurt you that the pay disparity is a problem
of course, of course, specially like in the early years, see i mean come on obviously i am not going to compare my pay
with somebody who has been in the industry for so many years and i cant be somebody who does not attracts a large audience
but expect like a crazy pay you know there has to be some logic behind it bu having said that when in a situation
like i have been paid 5% of what my male actor got even though he had got the same number of films same
number of hits and our career graphs have been very similar aa but things have change you know i think they have
tremendously changed because there's this wave of films that are lead by female characters yeah and i think its very
empowering yeah to be a part of thoses you know you really it really feels good and yeah
how many times have people, specially when you do a film like Sonchiriya, when you do a film like Saand Ki Aankh
when you do a film like Bala, how many times have people come and told you maat karo
are every time, every film of mine people come and tell me kya karri ho don't do it its not the right decision
why would you like not look like yourself why do you want to age on screen
idea that dark girl is not beautiful that's exactly whats the stereotype that Bala is trying to break
you know why do you want to play a dark skin character or why would you wanna play know know a mother to a
15 year old when you are only 27 and why and I've been said that but the thing is that i don't know what works, what
doesn't work, i don't do films like i don't read a script and i'm like wah 100 crores, are wah 200 crores no i didn't do
Toilet with that in mind you know i purely read the script and enjoy the character i enjoy the journey that i am going to be a part of
i think i am going to learn a lot from this character that i am playing i am gonna learn a lot from the experience of doing
the film and its gonna enrich me as a human and that's why i do it and if the film does well that's amazing
but when you debuted aa with Dum Laga Ke Haisha Sandhya was a very layered character you know
but you had to gain weight for that the film, yes Bhumi you are not like Sandhya when i am saying it i also don't mean that
the people who are the size of Sandhya should have low self esteem but do you think that there was a lot of fat shamming
that happened that happened before and after the film i had gained a certain amount of weight for the film
but the idea is it does happen, I've seen that happen around me I've seen that happen to other women
people have done it to me when i was younger because i was like a chubby kid yeah you know
so its not that it doesn't happen and that's the reason i did Dum Laga ke Haisha because i was like you know or
the reason I've done Bala is purely this because you know there is this mould that the society has created
there are these beauty standards that the world has made i think they should not exist but have you ever fallen victim to that
when you were a kid also or when you were a teenager
100% i think who hasn't, you are too short its a problem, if you're too tall its a problem, if you're too hairy not hairy
fair, dark everything is a problem, the fact is we all are imperfect yeah and the thing is that we need to
accept out imperfections the day we accept our imperfections i think you'll be a lot happier in life
and that precisely what my films try to do you know accept yourself love yourself that's exactly what Bala is also about
absolutely this controversy when i heard about it i was like isn't this the message they are trying to say
that you know this whole thing about a dark skin girl playing should play a dark skin girl and 60 year old should play
a 60 year old a northeast wrestler should be played by a northeast person do you think some how people do not
understand that it might limit the creativity of actor absolutely and this is what I've been and this exactly what i don't
understand because the thing is that i am an actor yeah, its my job to be able to transform you know
if i don't do that then i shouldn't play Sandhya shouldn't do Dum Laga Ke Haisha because i wasn't naturally that size
you cant do Sudha also, i cant do Sudha also because i mean i cant do any of the parts that i do
so if i limit myself to the physicality of the character the i will not exist because i am not that kind of a actor
and then we go onscreen saying oh you know female actors they only want to look pretty or they only want to look
glamorous they only want to do these things are but the point is when they try doing something different
forget female or male just if an actor tries doing something different you just cant accept it
and you know having said that i understand where these people stem from you know
for example during Saand ki Aankh i got a barrage of tweets you know where the ageism debate
started and then we had a whole bunch of tweets then people were like you know we loved you and
Taapsee and we really want to put an end to and the same people who tweeted about ageism controversy
that you know you guys have done a phenomenal job we so the idea is that watch the film
if its still bothers you let me know you know I respect your opinion i understand it a lot of times a lot of
people say actually get me thinking see because i am not a super human there might be
things that i say might be in correct but with every day is a learning i am learning everyday
and the fact is that if i am cast in a film i am adding something to the film yeah, you know
it is i mean there's a reason why people are taking me in the film
of course you started really young you guys like you raj and others like a lot of people like Taapsee etc etc
you are trying to make your own mark in the industry where you don't have any piggy backing yeah
has it ever happened where you wanted a film really bad and that has gone to somebody
because of filmy connections, you know Karan asked you a question i remember on
Koffee with Karan he had asked you despite of doing such great films you sometimes people
don't consider you in the league of Deepika or Katrina this is what he asked you
i think see to reach where Deepika and Katrina are they've put in a lot of years of their career
I've just started you know it doesnt happen this easily lets not take away from the fact that these
are not women that come from filmy families they've made it on their own and they've worked
really hard you know so it is amazing where they are and i hope i reach there but
my journey is gonna be different and the idea is to just work hard and that's the only way you can
reach see i have no bitterness my journey so far has been very nice and this whole debate
that you're a star kid, you're a filmy person, non filmy person
you might get the opportunities, but to survive is only you, no mom or no dad your talent will take you forward
if you are talented and you do may be have an edge over me because you belong to a film family
yes you'll have more opportunities you'll have more access because you are in the circle yeah
but eventually your talent will speak yeah so i am not a bitter person i am very happy for everyone
everybody should do well all films should do well we all need to co exist we all need to work well
and there are roles for me and i am trying to create a space for myself there's I've never been in a situation
ki yaar i wish i had done that yes i did start of young because you know i realized i need to earn
my own money i wanted to be independent and i really wanted to be a part of the movies and the
only way i could do that was it i could show my parents that you know i can make a living
out of it yeah, i am very fortunate to have parents that are really protective and i feel extremely
happy that now i am giving back yeah, to them
thank you so much its always lovely to talk to you and thank you for sharing this journey
because i am guessing there will be a lot of Bhumi Pednekar's in the making i hope i hope thank you thank you
hi i am Bhumi Pednekar and you're watching Pinkvilla if you've liked this video
please like share and subscribe