Bhumi Pednekkar’s film choices have often stood out for being bold and meaningful, and her recent project Daldal is yet another example of that. While she continues to receive praise for her performance,
the actor also recently chose to speak about something significant.
In an interview shared by The Indian Express, Bhumi spoke soon after the release of the O Womaniya! report by Amazon Prime Video India. The report highlights the hits and misses of female representation in Indian entertainment in 2024. Reflecting on the findings, she pointed out that scripts offering dignified and well written roles for women seem to have reduced over time.
Bhumi Pednekkar Thinks Men Are ‘Naturally Prioritised’
According to the report, female representation behind the camera saw a noticeable dip. Women held only 13 percent of head of department roles across key areas such as direction, cinematography, editing, writing, and production design, which is a drop from the 15 percent recorded in the previous report.
Reflecting on this, Bhumi shared that she has been working in the industry for over a decade and has noticed a sharp decline in scripts that offer women substantial and dignified roles. She explained that when overall opportunities begin to shrink, it naturally impacts representation across the board, which could also be one of the reasons fewer women are seen in technical positions today. She added, “Because within a conditioned hierarchy, men are naturally prioritised which is wrong.”
Bhumi also looked back at her own journey and revealed that in her entire career, she has worked on a women-led set only once. In the last three years, she has done two to three films directed by women, even though she consciously seeks out and continues to chase such opportunities.
Films Are Largely ‘Hyper Masculine’
Bhumi made it clear that for her, choosing a project is not just about gender but about aligning sensibilities and creative understanding. She shared that while what truly matters is what a person brings to the table, she does enjoy working with women because of the shared experiences and emotional awareness they often bring.
The report also highlighted an interesting shift. While theatrical films continued to lag behind, much like last year, streaming films showed a notable improvement. Compared to the 2024 report, there was a 16 percent rise, with 47 percent of streaming titles passing the test.
“A major reason for this decline is not just reduced work, but the kind of films being made today, they’re largely hyper masculine. I’m not the audience for them, and neither are many other women, which means a large section of viewers has been alienated, and women are pushed out of creative and technical spaces,” stated the actress.
Bhumi’s point rings true, and even in an earlier interview with SCREEN, she had spoken about the same issue. The actor had shared that real change will happen only when audiences step up and support women led films by watching them in theatres when they release.
