Bhumi Pednekar leads an ensemble cast of women protagonists in Thank You For Coming, now playing in theatres. The film directed by Karan Boolani talks about female pleasure and desire and is grabbing eyeballs. t2 caught up with Bhumi for a chat.

What’s the most heartwarming thing you have been told about the film so far?

I have been getting messages on Instagram and Twitter. I have been doing theatre visits and have seen large groups of women of different ages who are going to watch the film. It’s become a celebration for them because I feel that in many ways, women feel represented in the film.

Thank You For Coming is a comedy, a lighthearted film. It is a film about this girl (Bhumi’s character Kanika Kapoor) who really wants to find love, just like all of us do. But in that process, we kind of lose ourselves and lose who we are because so much is told to us that our happiness, our identity, and the feeling of being complete depends on a man.

Kanika is trying to do the same thing, but certain things happen. This is basically her coming-of-age story where she realises that she only needs herself to be complete. The women who are going in to watch the film are seeing their stories on the screen.

Also, as women, we are judged a lot. We are judged for our incorrect choices and also for all the frogs that we have kissed (laughs) while trying to find the love of our lives. I am still single and even though I am successful and independent and really living my life, we all are in search of that person. The only difference is that most of the time I feel complete in my being. But it’s a journey for everybody. I probably didn’t feel like this a few years ago. It’s taken my life experiences to reach this point, like it has for my character.

In general, women are really enjoying the film. There are a lot of evolved men too who are enjoying it. The biggest surprise for me was seeing women of a certain generation, which is age 60 and above, really champion the film. Their conversation about the film is very different. They are like: ‘Look, our generation didn’t know we were supposed to derive pleasure out of this. For us, it was more of a duty. That’s why it was never fun, never something that we looked forward to. It was always something that we felt burdened to do.’ And that’s so sad.

I gather that there would be quite a few relatable aspects for not only your character but for the other three women characters in the film as well. What were your primary points of relatability with Kanika?

There were so many! Like casual sexism. The film raises a lot of questions that we deal with on a daily basis. Like I said, the need to find a partner in the quest for which many women end up undervaluing themselves. There is that idea that women have to ‘be’ with somebody because that is the norm.

Also, I related to the fact that women who live life by themselves are always looked at from a different lens. There’s always that question — ‘When will you get married?’ — hovering over their heads. They are told: ‘Okay, career is great. But are you dating somebody?’ or ‘Do you plan on settling down?’ And it’s just something that really irritates me because I feel I am settled enough.

‘Settling down’ is a much-abused word in our society because a woman is considered ‘settled’ only when she gets married....

Absolutely! Some of us don’t settle for anything less than what we deserve. Some of us don’t even know we deserve better!

What was your first reaction when you were told that the film would focus on female desire and sexual pleasure?

I always want to champion such stories. When we speak about empowering women, this (female pleasure) is a very big part of it. But if a woman is vocal about her desires and needs and she does something about it, she is immediately labelled.

We don’t speak about it. There’s always some discomfort around it but it has to be normalised! Just like men have needs and wants, just like men like it, women like it too. In Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, I played a girl whose fiance suffers from erectile dysfunction and this girl is like: ‘Let’s fix it.’ That’s because sex is going to be an important part of the marriage. Through various narratives, I have always tried to highlight this aspect. My Lust Stories segment was hard in your face but done in the most beautifully sensitive way. Thank You For Coming highlights a lot of underlying themes, not just sexuality and desirability.

When we spoke last, you had said that your meaty and meaningful filmography doesn’t allow many filmmakers to approach you with candyfloss, masala fare. Thank You For Coming is fun and frothy, but is packed with a lot of messaging. How important is it for you to do films which may be in a lighter vein and yet have something to say?

If I am to do films that are a little more mainstream in their approach, it would have to be something like Thank You For Coming. The tone of the film, the way it is shot, the songs... it has all the ingredients of a mainstream pop-culture film. But it stands for something. The film has a thought that makes people really, really uncomfortable. That’s where I thrive as an actor. I love forcing people to think. I love making people uncomfortable and making myself uncomfortable.

Otherwise, how else do you bring about change? I don’t mean change in a preachy way. In the times that we are living in, we all need to have a more progressive way of thinking and cinema plays a very big hand in doing so.

When the trailer for Thank You For Coming came out, there were so many people who asked: ‘What are these girls doing? They are only drinking and they are going to nightclubs.’ But these are all independent women. Shibani Bedi’s character, Tina, is a single mother who chose her daughter and her life over a toxic marriage. She is doing well for herself. So is Pallavi, Dolly Singh’s character. I am a working woman too. If it is my choice to have fun, it is my choice. Does that mean that I have any less substance than anybody else? No. It’s very easy to put women in boxes. The problem arises from our conditioning, which is misogynistic.

If a gang of guys go out for a drink, it will be called ‘boy bonding’....

Exactly! In Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, a film that I thoroughly loved, the men were on a road trip and were hitting bars all the time, but we chose to be easier on them because the narrative was led by men. Humne toh unko office jaate huye nahin dekha.

The Hangover was a film that was celebrated and loved. He (Stu, played by Ed Helms) is a dentist, and Bradley Cooper’s character (Phil) is a teacher. But do you ever see them in a classroom or in a dental clinic? Nobody has a problem with that. So why does the lensing become so specific and different when it comes to women doing the same thing? It’s important for me to speak about these things because there needs to be a certain amount of realisation.

You and your industry peers are constantly judged for your choices, be it a relationship, what you wear or the kind of films you do. How do you handle that on a daily basis?

It does get to me sometimes. We all are human and we have our moments of weakness. But somewhere there’s an acceptance that this is the downside to being famous. People want to know what you are doing. There’s a lot of love that you get. So there will be a few disadvantages also that you have to deal with. My privacy is extremely important to me, but we are in the service of the audience. It’s about creating that balance.

It’s also about developing a thick skin, especially regarding fashion choices. And as a girl, at times, things are not said in good taste. It can get crass and cringeworthy, especially when they comment on your cleavage and the length of your dress. But at that time, you really have to understand that these people have limited exposure. I feel that somewhere I need to speak up for myself, like in places where this conversation will be taken in the right way. It’s important to make the point that there’s no problem with my cleavage or the length of my dress... but there is clearly an issue with the way you think.

Where does Bhumi the actor want to be in the next five years?

Whenever I have planned my life, it has never worked out. I feel that I am God’s child and I think there’s a blueprint that the universe has made for me. I know that I don’t want to compromise my integrity as an actor to achieve success. I want to keep working hard. I want to keep improving my craft. By the end of it, I want to be known as the greatest actor that our country ever had.

Which is your favourite recent watch on women’s empowerment? Tell t2@abp.in