'Every time I am undermined, there's a nuclear blast inside me': Bhumi Pednekar talks social media trolls and Daldal

Bhumi Pednekar talks to HT about her new web series Daldal, and how she deals with negativity and being undermined is different from her character.

Bhumi Pednekar has started 2026 on a positive note. Her new show, Daldal, sees her play a grey character for the first time. Her performance has earned praise from critics and audiences alike, even if the show has received mixed to positive reviews. Bhumi speaks with Hindustan Times about the show, criticism, and how she battles being undermined.

Bhumi Pednekar plays a cop in Amazon Prime Video's Daldal.

Bhumi Pednekar on Daldal

Bhumi admits that when she was first pitched the show, she was unsure of how it would be different. Daldal stars her as DCP Rita Ferreira, a cop with a dark past chasing a serial killer in Mumbai. On the surface, the show seems to be tropey, but Bhumi believes it is different enough from similar shows on Indian OTT. “For an actor, the opportunity to make it different starts with the writing. There have been some incredible parts that have been written in the past, and incredible performances, too. So when I was initially told this is what the show is, I felt kya hi alag kar lenge, until I read it and realised it is not a whodunnit, it is a whydunnit,” she says.

Bhumi calls her character, technically the story’s protagonist, extremely unlikable. Talking about playing such a character, she says, “I have been playing leading characters for 10 years, and most of them have been very correct. On the moral spectrum, they have always been white. Here, we have a character whose morality begins in the grey. She lives two lives.”

Bhumi on being undermined

Bhumi’s Rita is a loud character who is not averse to yelling or violence when things do not go her way. But that is very different from how Bhumi functions. She says that when she is undermined, she lets her work talk. “Actions speak louder than words. For women, that is our most powerful tool. We just wait for that moment when you get that opportunity. I feel that every time I am undermined, there’s this fire, as if someone has set off a nuclear blast inside me. It motivates me a lot more. I have always used my work as a way of coming back,” says the actor.

Bhumi admits that she has never felt the urge to respond to criticism or trolling, even if it is unconstructive. “Faayda kya hai? Main kise respond kar rahi hoon? (What’s the benefit? Who am I responding to?) Who is this person? I don’t know their life, their pains. Maybe their life has some shortcomings, and I am their collateral damage,” she says matter-of-factly.

Daldal also stars Aditya Rawal and Samara Tijori in lead roles. The show, based on Vish Dhamija's bestselling novel Bhendi Bazaar, is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.