Being behind the camera helped Bhumi
Not many know that before wowing critics and audiences alike with her powerful performance in Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Bhumi Pednekar worked as a casting assistant at filmmaker Aditya Chopra’s production house. Bhumi admits that “working behind the camera has helped [her craft] a lot.”
“It’s absolutely true. I used to do the casting of every film’s secondary cast. For instance, if a film has 80 characters, I was responsible for that. I remember once I had three films at the same time, and I was auditioning for every character except the lead pair,” she says. Bhumi’s job involved “meeting different directors, getting to know their visions, their expectations [vis-à-vis the cast members] and their style of storytelling”.
Now, Bhumi readily admits that she always wanted to become an actor but she had never told this to anyone. “I was 17, and I was very young and confused, which is natural at that age. I remember one
Now I feel maybe I did casting for so many years because I got to also act a little BHUMI PEDNEKAR, ACTOR
day, Shanoo Sharma (casting director at the production house) told me, ‘What are you doing with direction and all; accept the truth that you want to be an actor’ (laughs). A lot of directors would also ask me, ‘Why are you not an actor?’ But I always said no to them. Now I feel maybe I did casting for so many years because I got to also act a little (smiles).”
Bhumi has a suggestion for all budding actors – work behind the camera. “It makes you a better human being because you realise that it’s not just the actor who puts in efforts for a film, but the whole crew,” she says.