Bhumi Pednekar on playing lesbian woman in Badhaai Do: ‘I am an actor and I am playing a character’

Actor Bhumi Pednekar has opened up on her role in the upcoming film Badhaai Do, in which she plays a lesbian woman. In a new interview, 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. The trailer of the film highlighted the concept of lavender marriage (a marriage between a man and a woman for the purpose of hiding their homosexuality).

In an interview with India Today, 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 actor 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 Badhaai Do, Bhumi is seen essaying the role of Suman Singh, a 31-year-old physical education teacher, who is interested in women. She marries a cop named Shardul (Rajkummar) to escape the pressure of their families. The real twist in the story comes when Rajkummar’s character hints that he is also gay. Directed by Harshvardhan Kulkarni, Badhaai Do will release in theatres on February 11.

Also Read | Chum Darang on playing Bhumi Pednekar’s girlfriend in Badhaai Do: ‘It was a challenge but I had no inhibitions’

Apart from Badhaai Do, Bhumi has several films in the pipeline such as Anubhav Sinha’s Bheed, Ajay Bahl’s Ladykiller, Shashank Khaitan’s Govinda Aala Re, and Aanand L Rai’s Raksha Bandhan.