Bhumika Chawla has had two Telugu films released this year; she has finished one more film, and will soon begin shooting for a Hindi film, while another is set to be released. Unfazed about not working in Bollywood regularly, the actor adds, “After M S Dhoni - The Untold Story (2016), I didn’t get good enough offers in Hindi, so I didn’t sign any.”

She adds, “For me, regardless of the length of the role, I want to work on projects that leave a mark. The journey of the shoot’s more important than the end result. We work on a film for a long time, so it has to be worth my time to leave my child at home and go out and work. If it is successful, then it is like a cherry on a cake.”

Chawla has recently taken on character roles after having played the lead in films in both South and Hindi cinema. She explains that whether she played the lead or not was never her first priority: “Even in massy commercial films, I had roles that took the film forward.”

Ask the 43-year-old if age has been a factor in roles that are being offered to her now and she says, “I don’t think about age as you can’t stop it. One should age gracefully and accept that we are ageing.”

She adds, “We should do our jobs well and understand where we stand. Then we’ll be able to deliver well. Yes, the roles I play are character-based. In my Tamil film, I am the lead, but I am not doing five dances. It is a concept-based film. It doesn’t matter that you aren’t playing a 20-year-old but a 30- or 40-year-old. I don’t give age that much thought. I take life as it comes.”