Women's Day Exclusive: 'Biggest stereotype is, why would women prioritise career over marriage?' says Bhumi Pednekar

There's no denying that Bollywood actress Bhumi Pednekar who catapulted to stardom with her debut film 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' opposite Ayushmann Khurrana, has carved a niche for herself in the Hindi film industry with her phenomenal acting skills and choice of relatable yet independent and impactful onscreen characters in a very short span of time. 

Over the last few years, Bhumi has garnered tremendous acclaim through her choice of cinema and progressive roles and admittedly, her characters leave audiences with a message. 

In her five-year cinematic journey, Bhumi has entertained us with breath-taking performances in films like 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha', 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha', 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan', 'Saand Ki Aankh', 'Sonchiriya', 'Pati, Patni Aur Woh' and 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare'. All of these films have sparked a conversation about society. 

And much like her films, in real life too, the self-made star likes to create conversations around topics that seek to bring about a change or at least spark discussions.

So, on this International Women's Day, we at DNA spoke to Bhumi about what this day means to her, the women who shaped her life, her definition of the woman of this decade and more.

Here are some excerpts:

What does International Women's Day mean to you?

I think International Women's Day for me is basically a reminder to the world that even though that one particular day in the year we celebrate being a woman or womanhood but, every day, all of us through for our own actions, need to kind of keep spreading the message about equality, finishing the prejudice that exists in the world. I think it's very important to celebrate womanhood. The idea today is basically, to kind of reach out to those women that maybe aren't as empowered, by sharing stories, anecdotes, personal journey, by kind of making that much noise that anybody who is deaf not to understand that the inequality that exists, even in 2021, is just not acceptable. 

Do you think there should just be 'a day' to celebrate womanhood?

No, not at all. Even though there is one particular day and rightly so, but every day, all of us through our different actions, and through whatever we do through our work, through the conversations that we have in our ecosystem, we need to keep making sure that we take, even if they are tiny steps, that we take some kind of steps towards creating an equal and more inclusive society. You know, I try doing it through my work. And I think it's very important to, if you are an empowered woman, it is very important to pass on the baton, and keep helping other women, keep the conversation going on. 

Also, it’s just not about the women, it's also about the men who often get very uncomfortable by the thought of losing out on any kind of power. I think just to keep the conversation on because unfortunately, India is a country that is very deeply divided and most of the time the people haven't had enough exposure, maybe to education to knowledge, people who aren't evolved it's very important to kind of hammer this in their head. It could be like, maybe a house-help, it could be the gentleman who's driving your car, it could be an office boy, or it could be somebody in your family who thinks a girl's right place is serving her family or whatever old school, orthodox thinking that person might have! 

Who is/are the women who have shaped your life? 

The one person that I gave my complete credit to has to be my mother. Often we do give our parents credit, but because my mother was a single mother, we lost her father when we were very young, and even for those years, I really saw her walk us together. She didn't ever let us do our laundry or didn't ever put any kind of limitations on us. When I wanted to become an actor, it was such an unheard-of thing in my family, but, she was the one who encouraged me. When my sister wanted to go to the law school that she wanted to go to, or for that matter any of our achievements, our mother has always been literally the wind beneath our wings. Nothing was impossible for us because of her! While I give my mother a lot of credit, I also give my father a lot of credit just because it's International Women's Day, I am not going to take anything away from him. But I will specify speak about my mother. She is our idol. We saw work, we saw her take care of motherhood in a beautiful way, she just created that balance, even though it's something that's expected it was something that came to her naturally. She did not do it because the world expected it out of her. She made mistakes and we speak about those today. And I think that's the beauty of being human. I think people just expect women to be very perfect. I think that's the problem. Our gender cannot make us less human. 

Do you think even in a free world, women have less freedom when it comes to social media? What are your thoughts on the online hate, threats and abuse that women receive online regularly?

Whatever happens in the social media world is pretty much a reflection of what's happening otherwise, in society. It's just another dimension through technology that's been added into the society that we live in. So, if we see hate or if you see abuse and violence towards women on social media, it is because it actually exists in totality. The way women are being physically abused, there’s domestic violence, and just the lack of basic rights like necessities — it could be health, sanitization, education, food — the gender gap is very high and that's why you see it seep into every aspect of our life.

A lot of people confuse feminism with male-bashing. What do you have to say to them and how do you think this mindset can be changed?

Feminism is not about male-bashing at all, it is about both the sexes being equal. At times, people go the harsher route and I've seen that kind of also takes us away from the kind of equality for both the genders that we are trying to create. But, I feel like women, in general, have been pushed into a corner for so many generations, since the start of history, that I feel like it's kind of okay to be a little harsh. To me, the idea is not to find unrealistic amounts of equality. I think women can do things that men cannot.

Women stereotypes that you have heard of? 

Actually, I have been very fortunate to be born into a liberal family. But I've had enough friends, enough people around me who, unfortunately, have had to deal with a lot of prejudices. Even if it’s something like a girl I supposed to get married by a certain age or the idea that once you're in your mid-20s or early 30s you will not be able to find that perfect match! 

The biggest stereotype that is expected out of women and it is that very hard for somebody to understand is why a woman would prioritize a career over maybe a marriage. I think, especially for a working-class girl, it's a constant battle. And I think it's a constant battle on every level. So, I think that has to by far be one of the biggest stereotypes that I've seen around.

How would define the woman of this decade?

The woman of this decade is going to be a lot more woke. She is going to feel a lot more powerful because last year has kind of reset the whole world. The woman of the new decade is going to have a new voice because her community, her sisterhood of people supporting her are getting stronger and better.

Do you think it's important women empower other women?

I feel it is very important for women to empower each other, the reason being that there are certain experiences that only women would feel and would understand. For example, I could be somebody in Bombay, and I could be speaking to someone who maybe is in New York, hopefully, there may be certain similar life experiences. So, it is very important for a well-educated girl, who is doing fairly well in her life and her career, to spread the message to spread the word and to spread the love. And it can be done in the smallest way. For example, if you have somebody who comes and helps you out at home, you can tell them about your story or find out ways to help them. One small action can have a huge impact on somebody's future. I think it's so important for an empowered woman to discuss their life and to discuss their struggles as well.

The kind of film that you've done in your career span has had powerful female roles and overall in the film industry also we've seen a rise in the number of films that are shown from a woman's perspective, a rise in female-centric film, female directors etc. How do you see the industry going forward from here?

I think it's a welcome change. Thank God more women-led stories are being told! I really hope that eventually the conversation and the statement changes from these 'women-led stories' to just 'good stories'. That will be like the ultimate achievement, where a person's gender doesn't matter in the art that we all are a part of. 

I feel definitely there's been a certain change in the way people look at stories or the kinds of stories they want to know, so, we have to thank the audience for that. It's time that we share our stories because that's the only way we create the kind of empathy that we need the world to have. 

I think it's very important for people to understand how a woman thinks and feels, and I believe there's no better way than cinema. I'm a firm believer that cinema has a huge impact on people and that is why the kind of work that I or my contemporaries have done, have been really revolutionary. Most of my contemporaries, most of the girls that I can think of today, we all in our own way of trying to choose paths that really make our gender stronger. We are trying to fight towards reducing the gender pay gap, we are asking, in our work environment, for equal opportunities as a male actor. We are far away from it, but at least we are doing our bit.