Ace Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar shared her experience of essaying the role of a lesbian in her upcoming film Badhaai Do.
Recently, the Saand Ki Aankh star opened up on her role as a lesbian woman. Bhumi replied to a question on whether she had second thoughts on portraying the character. The actor spoke about the message of the film.
In Badhaai Do, Bhumi Pednekar and actor Chum Darang play two women in love. The film also features actor Rajkummar Rao in the lead role.
Bhumi said she didn’t doubt the choice after she agreed to do the movie. “Yes, that’s not my sexual preference, but is my sexual preference all that I am made up of? This is exactly what the film speaks about. I am an actor and I am playing a character. Why should only a queer woman who has a certain sexual preference like my character be considered for the role? I am somebody who has worked hard and there is a certain amount of talent that comes with me, then why do I not deserve this part any more or less than somebody else (whose sexual preference is different than mine)? I mean, how is that fair?”
The actress also responded to a question on whether films in the south have better subject matter than Bollywood. “No, I don’t think so. I feel today our industry has become very pan-India. We have had some Hindi films that have been blockbuster hits down South but the question never rose then. I feel like it is unfair to kind of take away any credibility from Hindi films. I find it very amusing that people even ask this. We are an industry that churns out a lot of movies in a year. We have pan-India stars today. We have actors from the Hindi film industry who work in various films down South and the idea is that art is one.”
In the trailer of the film, Pednekar is seen essaying the role of a 31-year-old Suman Singh, a physical education teacher, who is interested in women.
To escape the pressures of their families, she marries Shardul (Rajkummar), a cop.
The real twist in the story comes when Rajkummar’s character hints that he is also gay. Directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni, Badhaai Do will hit the cinemas on February 11.
