I don’t mind roles with grey shades: Bhumika Chawla
My role is central to Kannai Nambathey
Bhumika Chawla, who was last seen in the Tamil thriller Kolaiyudhir Kaalam, returns to K’Town with the Udhayanidhi Stalin starrer Kannai Nambathey. The actress was in the city for the shoot and DC caught up with her for a quick chat. She tells us how she goes about choosing roles, the lessons
she learnt in the pandemic and her fitness mantra in a candid interview.
ON KANNAI NAMBATHEY:
I play a crucial role, which takes the story forward. Mine is the central character.
ON DOING MORE TAMIL FILMS:
I would love to do more South films, because currently there are a lot of good scripts and content happening. But I don’t stay in Chennai and I think it is a case of ‘out of sight, out of mind’ (laughs). People don’t realise I am still working.
ON UDHAYANIDHI STALIN:
We did quite a few scenes together. He is a quiet, nice and simple person. It is good to see someone from such a big background still humble and grounded. It is a joy to work with him.
ON ROLES WITH GREY SHADES, LIKE IN KOLAIYUDHIR KAALAM:
Playing goody-goody roles for over two decades bores both me and audiences. I don’t mind playing negative characters. As an actor, one should explore different territories. I want to do such roles more often. I would say ‘expect the unexpected’ from me.
ON STAYING AWAY FROM RUMOURS AND CONTROVERSY:
For me, my work is like going to school. I go to shoots, come back home and sleep — end of story. No partying, no outings etc. I don’t talk about films and work with my friends outside the industry. Probably, that’s the reason I’m not dragged much into controversies.
ON HER FITNESS MANTRA:
I do yoga regularly.
Before the pandemic,
I used to swim occasionally. I am not a good swimmer, but I love to spend a good hour in the pool. I walk a lot. I am a foodie. I eat anything I like within limits, but I make sure my dinners are not late, and mostly eat before 7 p.m. I don’t snack in between.
ON REMAINING SERENE:
I’m not always peaceful and smiling. There are days when I am the opposite. But I am a self-analysing kind of a person. If I react over something, that night I may lose sleep. I keep thinking how I could have responded rather than reacted. I start my day thanking God for being alive. Life is the biggest gift. I do breathing exercises and stretches. I also listen to good music.
ON LESSONS LEARNT IN THE PANDEMIC:
I am not someone who normally loves shopping. And I realised that we were overdoing commercialism. People were selling anything and everything, things we could do without. I learnt that we can do a lot more with nature and spend more quality time with family. I spent a lot of time with my father, which I hadn’t done since I started working two decades ago. It is nice to be grounded and spend time in a simple atmosphere, because everything had become a rush for money, glitz, glamour, success and commodities.
A lot of people lost their jobs during the pandemic. I have two or three sets of personal staff. I did my bit to help them as well as upcoming directors who were out of work. I fed stray dogs. I usually don’t talk about what I do, but if it inspires even a few people, I’m happy to do so.
I’m not always peaceful and smiling. There are days when I am the opposite. But I am a selfanalysing kind of a person. If I react over something, that night I may lose sleep. I keep thinking how I could have responded rather than reacted
ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
It is overloaded. I go off it for a few days every now and then. Occasional digital detox is good.
ON SOCIAL CAUSES:
I do things in my own way, not to make headlines. There are things I dislike, like ragging and drugs. People say ‘Ban drugs.’ Why don’t they say ‘ban using drugs, as well as selling and importing them’? For that matter, ban cultivating them.
“Are you pricey?” we ask in conclusion. “In terms of money or attitude?” she shoots back. “If it’s money, the answer is ‘No’. We all work for money, but for me, it’s the character that is important – even if it is small, the significance is what matters,” she says signing off. Bhumika will be seen in a cameo in a Telugu film, Operation Majnu and in another untitled B’Town film.