Bhumi Pednekar became popular with her role in Dum Laga Ke Haisha Bhumi has been a foodie since her childhood days. Hence when she was selected for Dum Laga Ke Haisha, she was very happy because she was quite sure the film will be a hit due to its powerful script. She was given permission to eat as much and gain weight up to 85 kg to get into the skin of the character. In order to put on 20-25 kilos Bhumi started eating high calorie foods like butter chicken, dal makhani, pizzas, Mughlai dishes, sweets and paranthas, day in and day out and turned 86 kg. Besides gaining weight, Bhumi also prepared for the role by understanding the living style in Haridwar, where the film is based. She stayed in a house of a fellow YRF employee, who works as line producers in YRF. There she led a life of simple lower middle class family woman. She swept the floor, cooked for the family and changed the kid’s clothes. The experience that she earned while working in the house was more than training in an acting institute. It was this hard work, dedication and devotion of Bhumi for the role that fetched almost all the top awards for her commanding performance including the most poplar – Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut.
Bhumi Pednekar wanted to become an actress since childhood As a child Bhumi would spend much time standing in front of mirror and marvel her beauty. Though chubby since childhood she is blessed with sharp features. She was an avid Bollywood and Hollywood films and would dream of becoming an actress. She was passionate about British and American TV shows. At her school Arya Vidya Mandir (Mumbai) she would participate in dramas. While her father wanted her to join Indian Food Services; her mother supported her to chase her dream of becoming an actress. After completing her studies at the age of 18 years, Bhumi joined Yash Raj Films (YRF) as an assistant casting director. She assisted Shanoo Sharma at YRF and worked for six years. She kept working in the hope she might get an opportunity to become an actress.
Bhumi Pednekar has no plans for marriage Bhumi Pednekar is right now focusing on her film career and has no plans for marriage.
Bhumi Pednekar was unaware that her audition would fetch her role in the film Dum Laga Ke Haisha When YRF began the casting of Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bhumi Pednekar was involved in the casting along with casting director Shanoo Sharma. Aditya Chopra, Head of YRF, was interested in introducing a new girl in the role Sandhya Verma, the roly-poly girl who faces obstacles in married life due to her obesity. Both Bhumi and Shanoo had auditioned about 100 girls but none could live up to their expectation of writer director Sharat Katariya (he became famous after scripting Bheja Fry). One day Sharat Katariya had a strange idea about auditioning Bhumi because he was impressed by the way Bhumi was enacting the role and trying to help the new girls to act out during audition. When Sharat Katariya asked Bhumi to do an audition, she felt that Sharat was doing so that he could show the clip to the girls and ask them to act accordingly. However to her pleasant surprise when Aditya Chopra saw her audition he was overwhelmed and signed a three film contract with Bhumi! Bhumi Pednekar’s amazing journey of reducing weight from 86kg to 60 kg After completing Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bhumi was signed by many top filmmakers like Anand L. Rai for his film Manmarziyan, Zoya Akhtar for her short film and Akshay Kumar in his film Toilet – Ek Prem Katha. Hence she began her journey of reducing her weight to become slim trim like the usual Indian film heroine. It took her over a year to shed the additional 25 kg weight. She followed strict diet control and did regular workout and stunned everybody by reducing a major part of her flab. She says while reducing her weight she did not starve but instead she cleverly switched to traditional foods. She stopped butter chiken and all oily foods. In place of wheat roti she changed to wholegrain flour made of ragi, amaranth and chana. She began her days with consuming 50 ml of aloe vera juice on an empty stomach. The breakfast consisted of 3 eggs-white omlette with herbs and multi-grain bread or granola with skimmed milk. After this she did work out for an hour. After work out she took protein-rich snack, like egg whites or chana, chicken, fish with some greens. Her lunch included 1 big bowl of sabzi, 2 small rotis made with a blend of ragi, soya, chana and amaranth flour, and a big glass of buttermilk. In evening she ate seasonal fruits, usually a bowl of papaya or an apple and sip on green tea. For dinner she had a bowl of salad with different kinds of greens, seeds, nuts and cold pressed oil, grilled chicken or fish with brown rice. Bhumi Pednekar felt delighted to work with Akshay Kumar After Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Bhumi has been fortunate that many filmmakers approached her with film offers but Bhumi turned down many films as she aspires to act in films that are entertaining and message oriented. Hence when she was signed by Akshay Kumar for his film Toilet: Ek Prem Katha. She immediately signed the film as the film captures the country’s most critical issue of sanitation in India. The film is based on a true story how a newlywed women in India, left her husband’s house as the house lacked toilet. The movie depicts how Bhumi forces her husband Akshay Kumar to make a toilet. In a humorous style the film takes a dig at corruptions in government offices and exposes how red-tapism is the prime culprit behind construction of toilet in India. Bhumi has also done Zoya Akhtar’s short film that is based on theme of Love and lust. Further she is doing two films with Tanu Weds Manu director Anand L Rai.
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