Bhumi Pednekar, a Bollywood star, is thought to be one of the most gifted actors working in Indian cinema today. Through her unique style of cinema, Bhumi has shown incredibly progressive Indian women who are independent, aware, ambitious, and free-thinking. Since no one uses the word “men-led projects” to denote anything other, Bhumi detests the term “female-led projects”, which is used to label work in our nation that features female performers as the main characters.

“There is a misperception that viewers aren’t automatically drawn to films or other programming with strong female leads. These initiatives are categorized as female-led projects right away. I detest this term because it is so obnoxious. People’s viewing preferences are not defined by their gender. The audience is looking for quality films and content. Their decision to watch it isn’t based on their gender. It’s absurd” said Bhumi.

“If that was the case, I wouldn’t have survived, and I have made a career out of portraying incredibly strong women on screen. I was fortunate to begin my career at a period when female characters in film were being developed. I was written roles backed by authors. I was lucky that the directors thought highly of my performances and selected me to star in some of these stunning movies that portrayed women as change agents” added the actress.

Bhumi said, “My previous success, Bhakshak, was about a woman’s determination to challenge the system for the benefit of society and it went on to become a tremendous hit globally. Thus, viewers witnessed a female performer lead a topic that tackled patriarchy and depicted it in all its ugly forms. If viewers were choosing to watch projects starring male actors, then such a project should never have been successful”.

Bhumi wants filmmakers to take a risk and develop an increasing number of films with the same amount of money and scope as our nation’s male performers receive.

Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Lust Stories, Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Saand Ki Aankh, Bala, Pati Patni Aur Woh are all successful films with strong female leads who drive the plot. Therefore, she thinks it’s imperative that we dispel all myths, support initiatives headed by women, and give them the scope and funding that they so deserve.

Priyanka Dutta