Bhumi Pednekar on being criticised for Saand Ki Aankh and Bala: ‘I will continue to pick such roles’

Bhumi Pednekar does not agree with the criticism levelled at her for her roles in Saand Ki Aankh and Bala.

Bhumi Pednekar went off the beaten track with her recent roles but not all of her choices were lauded. She was received lot of flak for playing a sexagenarian in Tushar Hiranandani’s Saand Ki Aankh and a dark-skinned lawyer in Bala.

Bhumi Pednekar said that she will continue to take up roles which challenge her as an actor.

In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, Bhumi defended her decision and said that she will continue to take up such roles, despite the criticism. “By that logic, a naturally fuller woman should have played Sandhya in Dum Laga Ke Haisha,” she reasoned.

She added, “I’m an actor. It’s my job to transform into different characters. I respect people’s opinion, and I did take a step back to think about what they were saying. But I think I will continue to pick such roles because I like challenging myself. And let’s not forget that there simply aren’t enough meaty roles written for women.”

Currently, Bhumi is gearing up for the release of Pati Patni Aur Woh, a remake of the 1979 comedy of the same name. She will feature alongside Kartik Aaryan and Ananya Panday in the film.

Pati Patni Aur Woh was recently in the eye of a storm for its controversial dialogue on marital rape. In the trailer, Kartik complains that if a man manages to get sex from his wife through some “jugaad”, he is labelled as a rapist. After heavy backlash, the makers decided to mute the dialogue from the final cut of the film.

However, in an interview with PTI, director Mudassar Aziz said that he would have liked to retain the dialogue. “It was very unfortunate that the word ‘balatkaar’ has had to be replaced. It is unfortunate because I maintain my stand that a 12-year-old needs to know what rape is. The act is wrong, but if you are not going to talk about it, if they aren’t going to know what the term stands for, you’re going to be a generation that’s unaware. Don’t stop the word, stop the act,” he said.

In an earlier interview, Bhumi apologised for rubbing people the wrong way with the dialogue. “If we have hurt anybody’s sentiments, we are sorry, because that wasn’t the intention. But everybody who is involved in Pati Patni Aur Woh, does not belong to that school, does not belong to that thought process,” she said. Pati Patni Aur Woh is scheduled to release on December 6.

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