When Bhumi Pednekar made her debut in 2015 with Dum Laga Ke Haisha, her performance received a lot of praise. Her character Sandhya, an overweight woman, resonated with the audience. It won her several awards for the Best Female Debut of the year, including a Filmfare. With her latest release Mere Husband Ki Biwi, Pednekar has given comedy a shot again. “I love watching comedies and am also part of such films. As a person, I am very humorous and easygoing. This is my second film with Muddasar Sir. I have already done Pati Patni Aur Woh earlier. I have also done plenty of slice-of-life films and dramas, but I have not done slapstick before. Usually such roles are not written for women.”
The film also stars Arjun Kapoor as Ankur Chaddha, an entitled Delhi boy who is haunted by his disastrous marriage to his college sweetheart Prabhleen Dhillon (Bhumi Pednekar) even two years after their divorce. However, when Ankur goes on a trip with Antara Khanna (Rakul Preet Singh), the popular college girl who is now a physiotherapist, he falls in love with her. Unfortunately, Prabhleen has an accident, loses her memory and forgets that Ankur and she are divorced. The two women then vie for Ankur’s attention, setting off a chain of comic events.
Known to bring depth and intensity to the character, Pednekar believes that comedy is her forte because she enjoys doing it. However, there are actors who she thinks pull off comic characters very well. “I have worked with Rajkumar Rao; he’s fantastic. Ranveer was amazing in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, and he made it lovable. Akshay sir and Arjun are both funny even off screen. In the 90s, Sridevi, Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon were good. They got a lot of opportunity to do comedy roles which we are not getting.”
Pednekar’s decision to become an actor did not come easy. She had her roadblocks. Being discouraged constantly, the actor’s relatives weren’t supportive of her decision. “Whenever people told me I won’t be successful here, it made me more and more adamant to keep going. When someone challenges me, it keeps the fire burning in me. When my relatives stopped me from entering the industry, I rebelled. Today I enjoy the fact that they are proud of me,” she adds.
A fashionista at heart and yet choosing non-glamorous characters on screen, Pednekar likes to keep her characters real. “I have been using makeup since the age of three. I wear stylish clothes. It takes me one and a half hours to get ready every day. My glamorous pictures keep coming on social media. I am happy with that. In films, I would like to live the character, not the makeup and clothes.”
With a lot to look forward to, Pednekar simply believes that every success and failure has been a learning experience for her.