Bhumi Pednekar: I want to leave behind a legacy with good cinema

Bhumi Pednekar Picture Courtesy: Instagram

Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar has established herself as an actor who delivers powerful performances every single time she comes on screen. On the first anniversary of Bala, a film that garnered her immense critical acclaim and her second 100 crore blockbuster, Bhumi opens up about what makes Bala an incredibly special film in her great body of work.

"Bala is a very special film. It's again a film where I got a chance to experiment with a powerful character. To start with, what made this collaboration really special was my collaboration with Ayushmann. This was the 3rd time we were collaborating and as luck would have it, it was again a successful one and thank God for that," says the versatile star.

She adds, "What makes this film more special for me is the fact that I got to play a character that again questions a lot of stereotypes that exist in the society. Latika stands for integrity, confidence, an stands for breaking every stereotypical beauty standard in a country like ours. There has always been a color-based bias in India and she breaks that norm. She is a very strong character."

Bhumi says the script of Bala had floored her instantly. She says, "When I read the script, the first thing that stood out for me for Latika was her strength and I imbibed a lot of her strength into my personal life. Another exciting part was about how I got to work with Amar Kaushik. I had really enjoyed his first film and it was such a stupendous cast with Maddock - the collaboration was really great."

Bhumi has shown that she is keen to do social good through her cinema and roles. Ask her if Bhumi wants to achieve this as her legacy, she says, "I definitely want to leave behind a legacy and I think you can only do that with good cinema. Good cinema has to come with a strong message, with strong content. So, the idea is exactly that."

The young actress adds, "I want my films to be remembered even when I am not there, even when I am gone and only a powerful film can do that. Nobody remembers how many crores a film rakes in but what people remember is how they were moved emotionally by the experience of the film. Those films go down in history."

With Bala, Bhumi and Ayushmann again proved that they are a golden pairing at the box office. Their collaboration in Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Shubh Mangal Saavdhaan and Bala, received incredible love and appreciation and were runaway box office hits.

About their special pairing, Bhumi says, "I think it's our friendship and comfort that really translates into our chemistry. We are so original with each other. I don't think we have any inhibitions with each other. I don't have to pretend to be someone else in front of him. He is the kind of person who will come to me and tell me if something is good, right or wrong."

She adds, "I am supremely comfortable being around him. He makes me feel very safe and vice versa and I think that's why we have had a hattrick and touchwood I hope this streak of ours continues into whatever we do in the future."

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