Bhumi Pednekar. / Wikipedia

We have seen her doing de-glam, intense roles with passion. When she starts talking about her work the actress shows hunger and drive for more. While Bhumi Pednekar advocates her choices with honesty, there is a part of the actress that's thirsting for more. Bhumi wants her fans to know there is more to her than the intense roles, she is yearning to do some comedy, some action... and show off what she is really made of...

Like Maria Von Trapp said, let's start from the very beginning, Tell us what schooling was like for you?

I went to Arya Vidya Mandir school. My one most vivid memory from school is that we used to have havan on Tuesdays in school that was my early introduction to spiritualism. I think that helped me to grow spiritually. The calmness during the havan, the quiet all around really settled me down. I am thankful to my parents for putting me in that school. Later I went to RIMS International. I graduated in B.Com but I had also started working by then.

Did you have any favourite subjects?

Like most students I never understood Maths but my interest lay in History and English.

Since your dad was a politician, how much of it was discussed at home?

My parents made sure that we discussed politics at the dinner table, there was never a 'what will the kids understand?' kind of attitude. I have lost my father early in life and my mother took over and played both the roles well. But I clearly remember how both of them would often tell us not to waste your life, keep doing something or the other. My father didn't like films and the atmosphere in the house was mostly scholarly. They gave importance to education. There are many doctors and engineers in my family and no one we knew was even remotely associated with cinema.

When I showed my desire they were not very supportive but my mother supported me a lot.

There must have been a time when you were discouraged from turning into an actress?

Yes, in the beginning I was only shown the wrong side of Bollywood. I was told that success is not easy to come but whenever I was discouraged it made me more obstinate to prove them wrong. Whenever I am challenged it keeps the fire burning in me. When people tell me I won't be able to do a certain thing, I will put on my best to achieve it. I enjoy the challenges as it helps me achieve my dreams. When my relatives stopped me from entering the industry, I rebelled but today I enjoy the fact that they are proud of me.

The new generation of actors don't even know the language, and yet are trying to fit into Bollywood. Tell us, how someone like you who has been born and brought up in Mumbai, speaks Hindi so fluently?

My mom is from Haryana. My Nani (maternal grandma) doesn't know Marathi and my Dadi (paternal grandma) doesn't know Hindi so I speak both the languages.

How much has your mother influenced your life?

My mother is my God and everything in my existence is attached to her. I always feel that if she is happy my Karma will be cleansed.

You have been approached by directors for characters that are primarily based in the North, you just mentioned how well you speak Marathi, do you ever plan to play a Maharashtrian character?

Yes, I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. I have enjoyed a variety of roles wherein I learnt different dialects. My first film Dum Laga Ke Haisha created that benchmark for me, since I played a North Indian girl in that, I have automatically been slated to do North Indian roles. I would definitely love to play a Maharashtrian character someday, let's hope I get the chance.

Films are a social medium, and promotions almost always go hand-in-hand with it, yet actors often consider promotions too hectic and completely unnecessary for the success of a film, tell us how do you work around them?

I don't think promotions are a pressure. Films run because of promotions and sometimes it doesn't. We don't understand the reason why films don't work. But I think it's a great opportunity to reconnect with our audiences. Yes, one cannot take away from the fact that it is tiring but necessary too.

How much do you enjoy romedies as a genre because you have done Pati Patni Aur Woh which was also a similar genre?

I love watching comedies as an audience and also enjoy being a part of such films. As a person in real life I am very humorous and easy going (if I may say so myself). This is my second film with Muddasar Sir, but this is the first time I am doing such a comedy. I have already done Pati Patni Aur Woh earlier but not this type of comedy. I have done plenty of slice of life films, dramas, but I have not done physical comedy. Usually such roles are not written for women. In this film Rakul Preet and I have played a lot of pranks and we have had great punchlines, we have created a ruckus and the hero is trying to salvage them. It is full of differences, arguments. If a comedy film does not have so many situations and chaos you won't enjoy it.

In real life did you ever fight to get back into any relationship?

No, I am very lazy. The only place where I really trouble myself and work on is my acting. I haven't worked so hard on anything so far.

Who do you think in Bollywood does justice to comedy? It is a genre that's hardly been tapped, there is a long way to go! Do you think that's because we don't have actors who do justice to the genre?

Not at all, we have some fantastic actors! I can vouch for the stars that I have worked with so far. I have worked with Rajkumar Rao, he's fantastic. Ranveer was superb in Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani and he made the character very lovable, Ayushman Khurrana and Kartik Aaryan are both good. Akshay sir and Arjun are humorous even off screen. Akshay sir has been working in the industry for 25 years, his professionalism is commendable. He has the aptitude to make anyone laugh naturally. I loved Sridevi and Karishma Kapoor and Raveena Tandon in the 90's. Their comic timing was too good. I feel they had better opportunities to perform comedy roles which unfortunately are not being written these days.