My weight was never an issue: Bhumi Pednekar

My weight was never an issue: Bhumi Pednekar

• Shalvi Mangaokar, Hindustan Times, Mumbai
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• Updated: Oct 24, 2015 18:40 IST

Bhumi Pednekar won over the audience with her debut role of an overweight girl, Sandhya, in Dum Laga Ke Haisha (DLKH). The actor, who says she was always a "medium to overweight girl", had additionally gained more weight for the movie. But now, months after her film's release, Bhumi has lost the kilos, acquiring a slim figure in the process.

The actor is exceedingly happy about the change, which has been creating a buzz, and admits that she always wanted to achieve the feat. On the career front, Bhumi has also signed her second film. Interestingly, she has been paired, once again, with her former co-star, Ayushmann Khurrana.

"I'm trying to recreate Bhumi all over again," says the actor, who believes that her upcoming project will be a "relaunch". She continues, "There's such a drastic visual difference between how I was then and now. I feel like this will be a relaunch for me. Before DLKH, I was a regular, medium-sized girl. For a few months, I was overweight, and for the other months, I wasn't. For Sandhya, I did gain a good amount of weight, but now, I am probably the thinnest I've ever been. It's still a work in progress."

However, the quest to lose weight, says Bhumi, did not originate from a body-image issue. Rather, it comes from her wish to not be typecast as a particular kind of character. "My weight was never an issue, even when I gained it, and even today, when I've lost it. I've always been very comfortable with the way I look. I love myself the way I am, so this change is for me, and not for someone else. But, people were stereotyping me earlier. They didn't expect me to change. I wish there were great scripts for similar characters like Sandhya, but unfortunately, there aren't. I want to be able to do every kind of film. I don't want to restrict myself to a certain kind of physicality," she says.

Now that she has successfully attained that goal, Bhumi is excited about her next film. She says, "I read the script a few weeks ago, and I was completely blown away by it. I'm really happy to work with Ayushmann again."

The actor adds that the Vicky Donor (2012) star has a special place in her heart. "He was my first hero. He's a great friend, a brilliant actor, and we already share a comfort level with each other. But we will have to outdo what we did in DLKH. So, that's a bigger challenge for us," says Bhumi.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/my-weight-was-never-an-issue-bhumi-pednekar/story-BRAP9CvJ8cHWur3jSPI1TK.html