It feels good to be recognised, says Bhumi Pednekar

Mumbai: From playing Ayushmann Khurrana’s overweight feisty wife in Dum Laga Ke Haisha to his svelte and slim significant other in the forthcoming Bala, Bhumi Pednekar has come a long way in just four years.

Has it been easy? Bhumi clears her throat, pauses and answers ‘no’ with a  laugh. “Of course it hasn’t been easy. It’s never easy for an actor who doesn’t have connections in the film industry and who has to start from scratch. Of course, I am from Mumbai. But, no one in my family is from the film industry and to be now doing the kind of films that I want to, on my own terms, that’s quite something for me.”

Bhumi’s roster of roles is indeed impressive. “I am working with directors whom I consider to be among the best talent we have. Whether it is Alankrita Shrivastava (Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare), Anurag Kashyap (Saand Ki Aankh), Amar Kaushik (Bala) or Mudassar Aziz (Pati Patni Aur Woh)… these are the directors I believe in as much as they believe in me.”

Bhumi is also very proud of her last film Sonchiriya. “Agreed it didn’t work at the box office. But, I believe Sonchiriya is a film that will be recalled with much pride and respect for many years from now. We all worked very hard to make it a special work and the director Abhishek Sir is a genius.”

The actress who exuded a Smita Patil kind of earthy passion in Sonchiriya says, “To be compared with Smitaji, that’s a huge compliment. For me, every role that I pick has to take me to a place where I haven’t been to before. I am proud to be associated with films that allow me to portray characters at the grassroots. Women, usually in rural India, have to undergo such suffering and pain.”

In her next release Saand Ki Aankh, she again plays a rustic character.