THE PAN-INDIAN MOVIE STAR DISCUSSES ACTING AND MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS
OF HER CINEMA SUCCESS
ONE of this year’s most successful Indian cinema releases has been Telugu language sports and action drama Seetimaarr.
The mass entertainer is the latest chapter in the amazing two-decade long cinematic journey for popular star Bhumika Chawla. Having come to global prominence opposite Salman Khan in 2003 Bollywood blockbuster Tere Naam, the acclaimed actress has mixed up high-profile movies in multiple languages that include Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, and Punjabi.
The 43-year-old looks back on her prolific career fondly and is genuinely grateful for all she has achieved.
“I look at the journey so far professionally as an actor, as one that started with a dream, determination, faith and cultivated into one that taught me so much in life and gave me an opportunity to constantly rediscover myself. I met different people and worked in different places. I travelled to places far and beyond in India and abroad filled with beautiful memories, and a journey that I am grateful to God for. I feel blessed to have been loved by the audience, who have showered me and characters I have played with their love. It’s a journey to cherish and continue,” said Bhumika.
The Mumbai-based actress has her feet firmly on the ground, despite a hugely successful career and remains massively in demand across different languages.
The versatile performer is unable to single out a film that stands out in her astonishing career but does have quite a few roles that remain special and explained: “The roles closest to my heart would be my first film in Telugu, Yuvakudu, Badri (my first in Tamil) and Tere Naam, which was my first in Bollywood and launched me as a girl-next-door. Gandhi My Father was a biopic; therefore, very enriching to learn the facts, and Anasuya, a Telugu film that few people told me not to do yet I did and won the Nandi (award) for it. Also, Kushi, a Telugu film that became a huge success and is still remembered and similarly, Okkadu. Simhadri, a film with director SS Rajamouli, who narrated half the film and told me to stab the hero in the interval block. In south, that’s a different thing to do.”
One thing that connects most of her films is that Bhumika has taken on challenging roles and regularly delivered effortless performances that have connected with audiences. The role that challenged her most was 2006 Tamil language romantic drama Sillunu Oru Kaadhal, which saw her show two contrasting sides of one character. “I was offered Jyothika’s (lead) role but chose the other one and was fortunate to play two different sides of the same character.”
Throughout her career as a genuine pan-Indian star, Bhumika has worked with some top names from the various regional language industries and A-list heroes.
When asked, who she has most enjoyed working with, Bhumika smiled and said: “Fortunately, I have had a good rapport with all my co-stars. It’s been a good journey so far with Venkateshji, who’s a thorough gentleman and a positive person and a lot into spirituality. Surya is a thorough gentleman. Sumanth again is a thorough gentleman. Pawanji (Kalyan) is very quiet yet sensible, and Abhishek (Bachchan) was a lot of fun on sets.”
Despite the huge global success of Hindi blockbuster Tere Naam, Bhumika’s career has been dominated by major Tamil and Telugu films, along with exploring other regional languages. She doesn’t regret not acting in more Bollywood films and remains open to all languages, like she has done throughout her glittering career and is philosophical about how her journey has mapped out.
“I don’t know why I haven’t done more Hindi films. When I got a lot of offers, I was busy working down south. Sometimes, I didn’t quite like the script, and when I did like it, ultimately, for different reasons those projects didn’t work out.”
Although she has become a major movie star loved by millions, for Bhumika the focus has been the craft and delivering a convincing performance that connects with audiences. The technically gifted star confesses that being given the opportunity to act in so many languages has kept the motivation levels high and prevented her from slipping into a comfort zone. She takes the same approach for each language and always gives her best. “My approach in different languages may not change as much because ultimately it’s acting and connecting the character to the audience.”
Bhumika’s Telugu language film Paagal released in August and that was followed by Seetimaarr in early September. Her latest release is Telugu language drama Idhe Maa Katha and she has Tamil crime drama Kannai Nambathey on the way. Idhe Maa Katha is a story of four strangers attached to their bikes, who travel together.
“My role in Idhe Maa Katha is very different from what I have done before. It’s about a middle class married lady following her dreams. As a young girl she had a few things in mind that she wanted to do, but life took a different course. In a much later stage in her life, she decides to follow her heart. I hope to inspire at least a few women to follow their dreams no matter what their age is. The role instantly appealed to me.”
The hardworking actress returns to Bollywood with a Hindi film she starts working on soon.
When asked if she has a dream role, the beautiful actress smiled and said: “As an actor, one is always looking for doing roles one has not attempted before. That’s growth for an actor and as a human, else we start to stagnate.”
The gifted actress also revealed what she thinks is the secret to a great performance. “A great actor is one who stands in the same space as a powerful performer and great visionary director who knows how to extract a good performance.”
The acclaimed performances across different languages, hit movies and the graceful way she has carried herself has turned Bhumika into a hero for millions and a strong symbol of girl power. The down-to-earth star has never let fame go to her heads and reveals who her own hero is.
“Being a hero for many is a gift of god. For me, a hero is someone who has mastered his or her downward emotions to turn them into positive ones and become a Soorma, someone who controls his or her own self. The people in the army at the borders are also true heroes.”
The film idol wants to continue doing different roles and finishes off the fascinating
conversation by speaking about her love for cinema. “I love cinema because it’s my passion, it’s given me so much and the fact that one has the power to influence millions of people while being a part of a truly good film.”
Quick Q & A
What do you enjoy watching as an audience member?
I like to watch good funny films, but not slapstick comedies and intense dramas.
If you could master something new what would it be?
If I could master something new, it would be a language, a sport, a new cuisine, singing or dancing.
What inspires you?
I find inspiration everywhere. I have been inspired by my parents, by nature, by my friends, ordinary people, books, and movies. I like to see the good that I can in different things and learn what format suits my sensibilities.
What is the biggest life lesson lockdown has taught you?
Life is unpredictable and every moment is a gift. A lot of people have found their strengths in this time and are mastering their hobbies and passions, which is also a gift.
How much joy does it give you that Tamil and Telugu cinema have enjoyed
a surge in global popularity?
It’s great to see regional films getting global recognition.
Did you know?
- Before finding fame in films, Bhumika Chawla appeared in TV serials Hip Hip Hurray and Star Best Sellers – Fursat Mein.
- Her debut film Yuvakudu (2000) was produced by legendary actor Nagarjuna.
- The actress got her first major Best Actress award for 2001 Telugu romantic comedy Kushi, which was a remake of a 2000 Tamil language film of the same name. Other films she has received acting honours for include Missamma (2003), Tere Naam (2003) and Sathyabhama (2007).
- Her film Luv U Alia (2016) was shot simultaneously in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu.
- Her mystery thriller U Turn (2018) was filmed simultaneously in Tamil and Telugu.
- She has actively campaigned for stronger roles to be written for actresses in their thirties and forties.
The actor’s evolving style from youth to maturity getty images
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Bold and dramatic changes defining Aamir Khan’s careergetty images
From rugged to refined Aamir Khan’s versatile appearancesgetty images
Memorable film moments showcasing Aamir Khan’s unique stylegetty images
Aamir Khan’s blend of classic and contemporary fashiongetty images
Aamir Khan’s dedication to authentic character portrayals getty images
Cinematic milestones reflected in Aamir Khan’s on-screen imagegetty images
A seated Jain enlightened teacherAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Ganesha from JavaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
A Chinese silk painting depicting the BuddhaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
ArdhanarishvaraAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Head of a grimacing yakshaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
NagaAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
The Bimaran casketAshmolean Museum, University of Oxford
Hunia Chawla
A still from rehearsal
Them performing liveNajmuddin Saifuddin Qawwal Group
The cast of Marriage Material in key moments from the play, including Avita Jay, Kiran Landa, Omar Malik, Irfan Shamji and Anoushka Deshmukh
Sathnam Sanghera’s 'Marriage Material' adapted into bold new play on conformity
The play Marriage Material at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre is Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti’s adaptation of Sathnam Sanghera’s novel of the same name, which first came out in 2013.
She is lucky to have Iqbal Khan direct Marriage Material. The play, a co-production with the Birmingham Rep, is set in the late 1960s. Mr and Mrs Bains (played by Jaz Singh Deol and Avita Jay) run a corner shop in Wolverhampton. Their younger daughter, Surinder (Anoushka Deshmukh), is 16, her sister Kamaljit (Kiran Landa) is just a bit older.
They have a neighbour, Patwant Dhanda (Irfan Shamji), who, as we shall soon see, is not a very pleasant man. In fact, he comes across just as racist as Enoch Powell, who represented Wolverhampton South West for the Tories from 1950 to 1974.
It will be recalled this was a time when Sikhs working on the buses were told they couldn’t wear a turban. That was a hard-fought battle that had to be won.
The Bains, meanwhile, simply want to get their girls married off.
Nothing new here, I thought.
What makes the tale different is that the plot twists and turns down the generations. Mr Dhanda, who has the makings of a paedophile, makes a pitch for one of the girls when Mr Bains dies early in the play. “A life with no man in the house is no life,” he informs the newly widowed Mrs Bains.
Mr Dhanda has a wife but she has returned to India so he considers himself to be a free man.
Surinder’s English teacher from school, Miss Flanagan (Celeste Dodwell), who is also head of the fifth form, tells Mrs Bains about her daughter: “I don’t want to embarrass you, but she is bright. Ridiculously bright.”
She adds: “Mrs Bains, I think it would be a pity if Surinder didn’t stay on at school.” The initial response from Mrs Bains is not encouraging: “Too much education makes people’s brains get mixed up, they don’t sleep at night…”
But she is finally persuaded that Surinder should be allowed to stay on for a while longer before being married off.
Mr Bains was very old school. When Surinder confides she would one day like to be “a somebody”, he is amused that “my daughter wants to be a somebody”.
“Like you,” she tells her father.
Mr Bains consoles his daughter: “We will find a somebody for you to marry.”
At the point of a possible marriage, however, Surinder is sweet-talked by chocolate salesman Jim Wilson (Tommy Belshaw) into running away with him. They share a love of literature, and he calls her “Sue Bains”. But the relationship does not end well.
Once she has left, Surinder is written off as “dead” by her family. The story that is circulated is that she was only 16 when she was killed in a car crash. That’s better than to let on that she ran off with a white man.
By the time she is reconciled with her sister towards the end of the play, a great deal has changed. Kamaljit married Tanvir Banga (Omar Malik), a young man who helped out in the Bains’ corner shop. When the two sisters meet again, Tanvir has also died. But he and Kamaljit had a son, Arjan Banga (Jaz Singh Deol doubles up for this role after the death of Mr Bains). He has come home after his father’s death to help his mother who is still running the family corner shop.
Meanwhile, Mr Dhanda’s business has prospered. He now has a son, Ranjit Dhanda (the role is taken by Omar Malik after Tanvir’s death), and he is nearly as unpleasant as his father.
Arjan has an English fiancée, Claire (Celeste Dodwell). In London, Arjan worked as a creative director. But after deciding to stay in Wolverhampton to help his mother, he decides he cannot marry Claire because she is white. In other words, Asians are not free of racism, either. Happily, at the end, the couple are reconciled.
As for Surinder, she parted company with Jim Wilson after realising he was all talk, depended on her for money and had failed to earn a penny from his literary pretensions. She had prospered, though, as a hotel owner and had been transformed in time into a well-groomed businesswoman. After being tracked down by Arjan, she decides to return to her roots in Wolverhampton and help Kamaljit run the family corner shop. Perhaps 50 years had passed during the passage of the play.
Being subjected to racism turned some Asians into racists themselves. The word goreh (white person) is repeatedly spat out with venom. Maybe it is worth remembering the play’s audience isn’t exclusively Asian – white folk are watching as well. And maybe some of the toilet humour ridiculing white people, which always makes me cringe, could be cut out.
In Sanghera’s novel, there is a quote from Enoch Powell’s speech in November 1968: “The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact, he is a west Indian or an Asian still... he will by the very nature of things have lost one country without gaining another, lost one nationality without acquiring a new one. Time is running out against us and them. With the lapse of a generation or so we shall at last have succeeded – to the benefit of nobody – in reproducing ‘in England’s green and pleasant land’ the haunting tragedy of the US.”
In Marriage Material, where the acting is marvellous (apart from Mr Dhanda’s Indian mannerisms and accent being overdone) we do travel across a couple of generations.
There is a scene when Tanvir rejects Mr Dhanda’s vision of creating a little Punjab in Wolverhampton.
Mr Dhanda wants to take over the Bains’ corner shop and is putting pressure on Tanvir to sign the papers. He says: “In this country, money is the path to freedom.”
“Sign, please,” he instructs Tanvir. “We must make sure our children learn to behave nicely, according to our rules.”
He insists: “We maintain our identity so we can be ourselves.”
Tanvir disagrees: “We can be us here. With the goreh.”
Dhanda warns him: “Then we will be inviting chaos.”
Tanvir’s comment is telling: “You sound like Enoch.”
Kamaljit, who is expecting a baby with her husband Tanvir, says: “I would like my child to grow up knowing the history of the Gurus and to read the Granth Sahib. And to love their culture.”
Tanvir tells his wife: “I would like my child to go to the finest schools, to cheer for England in the World Cup and eat Yorkshire pudding on a Sunday.”
Kamaljit sets out a dream that has perhaps come to pass with many third and fourth generation British Asians: “Maybe our child can do both.” Much, much later, in a throwback to the past, we learn of Surinder’s O-level results: “Biology A, Chemistry A, English Language A, English Literature A, French A, History B, Latin A, Mathematics A, Physics A…”
Kamaljit tells her younger sister: “Never mind about the B.”
And that is quintessentially Asian. Their acting is outstanding.
Marriage Material is at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre until June 21, and at the Birmingham Rep from June 25-July 5