'I have been lucky that quality work has come my way'

Mumbai: Bhumi Pednekar will continue to concentrate on films that interest her, irrespective of the length of her characters, as her goal is to star in pan-India movies.

From the onset of her journey in Bollywood in 2015 with ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’, the 33-year-old actor has always given importance to well-rounded characters.

“I have never had a plan. I have been lucky that quality work has come my way and I have lapped up every opportunity that I got,” the actor, known for films like ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’, ‘Shubh Mangal Saavdhan’ and ‘Bala’, told the top news agency.

She added, “People see the number of scenes. They don’t see the scope of what you can do with that character. I will continue to do the films that I want to do. I want to do every kind of cinema, I want to do pan-India, global work. I don’t know where it ends.”

Her latest film is the Sudhir Mishra-directed ‘Afwaah’, which revolves around the theme of standing up against dangerous rumours and the impact they can have on people’s lives. The movie hit cinemas on May 5.

In the film, also starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi plays Nivedita, the daughter of a politician, whom she describes as an ambitious girl. She asserted the role is closer to her real self.

“I wanted to do a thriller with this tonality that had something to say, the character really excited me. For me, it is a genre breaker. I have never played a girl who is extremely headstrong, arrogant, super ambitious and full of desires. She is someone closer to my ideology. I wanted to see what I do when I play somebody close to me in so many ways,” the ‘Badhaai Do’ star said.

Besides, Bhumi boarded the cast of ‘Afwaah’ to work with Siddiqui, from whom she learnt the importance of living in the moment and that eventually helped her enhance her performance.

“I have been an admirer of Siddiqui’s work. I would hope that there would be something where he and I could collaborate. It was directed by Sudhir sir, so this felt like a perfect fit. As an actor, he is for the moment, whether that moment is for his or my character, that doesn’t matter. I loved that so much,” she said.

Ask her about actors being subjected to scrutiny and rumours, Bhumi said it is part and parcel of the job and she has learned to deal with it over the years.