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‘I Have Never Had A Filmmaker Tell Me How To Look For The Camera’ – Bhumi Pednekar On Beauty Standards

‘I Have Never Had A Filmmaker Tell Me How To Look For The Camera’ – Bhumi Pednekar On Beauty Standards

Reeya Raykar

Women’s body has always been a topic of debate. Society has set up unrealistic and unwanted body/beauty standards that no one really asked for. Even in the film industry, the stress is mainly on the actresses to look a certain way and that is all because of the societal conditioning that is so deep-rooted. Bhumi Pednekar is one such actress who has tried to break stereotypes through her films by playing diverse roles. From a confident plus-sized woman in Dum Laga Ke Haisha to a dark-skinned snappy girl in Bala, she has nailed it all.

Bhumi, who was recently roped in to be the brand ambassador for beauty and wellness platform Boddess, says the idea is to promote the values of self-love and body positivity among the masses.

As per a report on Mid-Day, Bhoomi says-

We, women, need to create communities that endorse self-love and inclusivity. We shouldn’t be expected to conform to social standards of beauty. My first film gave me confidence, and Sandhya [her character] made me fall in love with myself. Beauty is about finding your own happiness, which includes [attaining] mental and physical well-being.

She further added-

I say no to fairness cream [ads] because I don’t want young women to feel lesser because of their skin tone. When I do a Bala, I want to empower people who are told they are not good enough because of their skin colour. The obsession with fairness has reduced slightly. The conversation will [result in change] only when we have enough people talking about it.

Off-camera, I refuse to let anyone dictate [terms to me]. I have never had a filmmaker tell me how to look for the camera. My decision has to come from a place of creativity.

On the work front, she will next be seen in Badhaai Do alongside Rajkummar Rao, and I am super excited to see her in it!