Afwaah | Bhumi Pednekar: Just because I love to glam up does not mean I am not a serious actress

On the one hand, she broke all the stereotypes of the image of a Bollywood heroine from her first film by taking the risk of gaining weight living in a time when almost every young girl has a body consciousness; on the other hand, she always managed to look absolutely ravishing on the magazine covers, at red carpet events, and in her public appearances.

Actress Bhumi Pednekar believes that being glamorous off-screen can never stop an actress from being serious about performance, and assuming that both elements cannot co-exist is wrong.

Sharing her opinion on vanity being the actress she is, Bhumi said, "I was 12 years old when I told my mother that I want to be an actor. I dreamed to become an actress after watching Sridevi ji, Madhuri Dixit, and all these wonderful women who created magic on-screen with their dancing, performances, glamour, and what not! That's the kind of cinema I absolutely loved watching as a young girl. So when I glam up for any on-screen character or even off-screen appearance, that's the child in me who is fulfilling her dream. Other films that I do for myself (indicating to her on-screen de-glam avatar) are for the adult in me, who has different reasons to tell those stories. Inherently, I am that person who can sit in front of a mirror and do her glam for hours, and it is therapeutic to me. And I am not ashamed of it. Since, in most of the film, people have seen me de-glam, they might be thinking that's the kind of person I am in real life. That is not true; I am a serious actor, and just because I enjoy vanity, that does not mean I am not serious about my craft. So, such thoughts really trouble me."

The actress also believes that it takes equal talent to act and dance around a tree in a mainstream Bollywood film.

"In comedy, for instance, you need to make people feel, get laughter, or look glamorous in a film. When people say that Bollywood heroines are just dancing around the tree and that is so easy, no, it is not; it takes an equal amount of talent and grace to do so. For me, personally, whether I am doing a rom-com, a glamorous character, or an intense character, I try and give my 100 percent and deliver the most honest performance ever!" said Bhumi, who is playing the female protagonist in the latest released film Afwaah.

The actress was talking at the FICCI Frames 2023 platform that is taking place in Mumbai between May 3 and May 5.