Why Bhumi Pednekar feels empowered with 'Durgamati'

She’s known for enacting small-town women with the gumption to drive change in the society around them in her movies. Be it Dum Laga Ke Haisha, the 2015 romantic comedy in which she made her big screen debut or Toilet: Ek Prem Katha that followed, Bhumi is a name synonymous with earthy characters you could easily identify with from the Indian milieu.

In Durgamati, a remake of the 2015 Tamil-Telugu bilingual, Bhaagamathie, helmed by the same director G. Ashok, Bhumi is back centerstage in a role that seems tailor-made for her. She plays an IAS officer who is brought back from prison where she had been incarcerated, to provide evidence against a political leader. The horror thriller also stars Arshad Warsi, Jisshu Sengupta, Mahie Gill and Karan Kapadia among others. The actress who describes Durgamati as a conspiracy thriller is wary about opening up on the plot of the film in order to retain the suspense for the audience when it drops on Amazon Prime Video on December 11. She, however, does admit to watching the original and being in awe of the film not knowing that a few months later, the Bollywood version will land on her lap. Over a Zoom conversation Bhumi talks about feeling empowered with her new role and how OTT platforms have bailed out Bollywood during the lockdown.

Durgamati seems like a female-driven movie with a lot of thrills. How was the journey for you?

The journey I had with Durgamati was extremely empowering. We don’t often see narratives that are helmed by women where your female protagonist is given such a canvas. I’ve only seen our male counterparts who have had movies full of action, drama, emotions where they are given these huge sets and the marketing is pushed to levels where they have building-high cut outs and hoardings. I see all that happening for this film and its really empowering.

Having said that what’s extremely important is that I was very happy about the fact that here comes a film that is gender fluid with its character and that’s exactly what films and cinema needs to do. My gender should not decide the fate of the film and that’s how it has always been in the past. I’m very fortunate that this is the first time where I’m completely shouldering it and I’m glad that it is with Durgamati!

Durgamati seems to be a mix of the contemporary era with period drama. What attracted you to the film?

I feel the most exciting part of Durgamati is the narrative and the way the character was written; it dips into history and ancient times. I won’t really indulge in the details of the narrative because I don’t want to take away anything from the audience when they watch it because it is a conspiracy thriller. The highlight of Durgamati is the story, the way it is written, the characters. It is a film that’s massy, commercial. It scares you, you’re constantly questioning as to what is going on; it’s an edge-of-the seat thriller. But at the crux of it, it has a very strong story. It is high in content and that’s something that really attracted me to do the film.

Have you seen the original Bhaagamathie?

I happened to watch Bhaagamathie and the only thought in my mind was - ‘what a canvas for any actor’, irrespective of the gender, 'what a fantastic film', 'what a chance to give a great performance'. A couple of months later I had Durgamati come my way and I was quite surprised because I didn’t think while watching it that I’d land up doing the remake. I didn’t revisit the film because I wanted this journey, this process and this characterisation to be more personal, more unique to who I am. I think any intelligent actor would do the same. The idea is not to make a ‘me too’. It’s already a remake. So what’s the fun if I give the same performance? Then it wouldn’t be challenging for me. I wouldn’t have done the film.

When Bollywood remakes South Indian films it is often tweaked to suit a new audience. Has the same happened here?

At the crux of it both the films are the same. It would be very unfair of me to say that a lot of it has changed. I think the newness is in the cast, the small little tweaks the director has done to make it more relatable to a Hindi watching audience. It needed a bit of adaptation but at the core, it is the same film.

How does it feel to have a superstar like Akshay Kumar (producer of Durgamati) backing the movie?

I’m full of gratitude. It’s the first time Akshay sir has produced a film and he’s not a part of it. He usually has a song or a special appearance or a part larger than that. He realised that in this film it had to be these four characters, it is their journey. He is such a hands on producer. I’ve worked with him in a different space and to see him in this new avatar.. I’m amazed by how much he can do in a day and how dedicated he is to everything that he does.

Do these women-centric roles gravitate towards you or do you have to actively pursue them?

It’s a mix of both. It takes a lot for me to say 'no' to a film where I don’t have much to do but it might turn out to be the biggest commercial hit of the year. It takes a certain amount of conviction that I have in the films that I do; a certain amount of clarity, as to what career trajectory I want. I’ve been very clear from my first film that I need to contribute to the narrative of the film. For me the length of the roles doesn’t matter. For example I did Bala, where it is Bala’s journey, but my character is the fulcrum of the journey.

If you remove Latika (her character in Bala) from the plot of the film, it doesn’t work. I don’t care about how long the role is. What really matters is the impact my role will have on people. I want to constantly give my audience memorable characters and I want to leave behind a legacy in films. That’s the reason why I chose the kind of films I do.

How do you feel about Durgamati releasing on an OTT platform?

It is a blessing that my film can reach 200 countries together and it has increased my audience space, and the viewership the film gets. Our habits as consumers have changed tremendously. I do understand that a film like Durgamati is traditionally enjoyed in a cinema; it is an audio-visual heavy film. In the last few months I have seen enough content to realise that both these experiences; OTT and theatre are unique. Both give you an individual experience. Because of social media the world has become very small and I realise that we as actors are really fortunate especially in the lockdown, when the world is going through a pandemic, I can still reach my audience. I can still entertain them, I can still enter their hearts and homes. I feel that the OTT world has really bailed us out.

• Entertainment