Juhi Chakraborty (HINDUSTAN TIMES; January 11, 2021)

She had a busy 2020 with three film releases and this year, too, looks like it is going to be a packed one for Bhumi Pednekar. The actor has already started shooting for Badhaai Do, and promises that this year is indeed going to be exciting for her and her fans.

“I am starting 2021 with Badhaai Do with Rajkummar Rao. The film comes from a very celebrated franchise, and I am so excited to team up with Rajkummar and the whole team. It is a cracking start for an actor like me who always strives to add variety to the filmography,” shares Pednekar.

The 31-year-old has always taken a different path when it comes to her films choices. While she acknowledges that it is only because of the changes in the film industry that it is possible for her to dabble in different films, she feels that there are still some things which need to be altered.

“I want to see change not just in the kind of films being made but everywhere. Like the gender gap that exists, be it in our pay scales or opportunities. I hope that reduces and diminishes. We have enough people who are working very hard from both the sexes. So that is definitely going to be the number one thing on my list of wants this year,” says the Durgamati (2020) actor.

Noting other changes that have happened in Bollywood in the recent past, Pednekar says that she is happy to see how stardom has changed and evolved. “Today, actors are a lot more accessible. You seem to know a lot more about them because of social media. And that is how I like it as well. I feel that the audience and my fans need to know me. They know a lot about me, my likes, dislikes and my ideologies. That’s why we can create a good community,” she explains.

The actor adds, “I also feel that we have become a lot more human, there is a human quality attached to stars today which I feel wasn’t there earlier.”