In this special interview with Subhash K Jha, the fabulous Bhumi Pednekar talks about her new film Mere Husband Ki Biwi, the fun she had playing the comic role and more!
Mere Husband Ki Biwi Looks like a laugh riot. Did you have fun shooting it?
Well, comedy is something that I enjoy thoroughly. I’ve done quite a few. Maybe the tone of Mere Husband Ki Biwi is a little different. But if I look at it, this is more of a social comedy with a slice-of-life feel to it. Mere Husband Ki Biwi is definitely different. The tone is a little front-footed. And also, I have not done a comedy where I get the punchlines. I have not done a comedy where I get to do physical comedy, which was very, very refreshing. I feel that women usually don’t get an opportunity to do that. So it was extreme amounts of fun. And I really, really hope that the audiences connect with me because I’ve truly tried doing something different.
You have worked with Mudassar Aziz before. Has he evolved as a director?
Everything that I did was completely directed by my able director, Mudassir Aziz, because I think he has a very good hold on comedy, and he understands comic timing. An actor like me loves to improvise. But there were many times where he told me to hold back, because a comedy of this tone does not have the space to do that, especially where dialogues are concerned, because they are written in a certain meter, and they need to be delivered in a certain meter because of punchlines.
What do you find tougher to do the serious films like Bhakshak or the more lighthearted films like Mere Husband Ki Biwi?
I genuinely feel comedy is the toughest form of art. I feel drama is a little manipulative. Comedy is very, very reactive. And a lot of comedy is also dependent on the people that you share that frame with. Because if they don’t have an impact of the line that you’ve delivered, and if their reaction isn’t funny, then the audience is not going to find it funny. Comedy is very tough. You know, there’s a famous saying that comedy is serious business, and I completely, completely resonate with it. Usually, you know, the audiences think that all comedy is very easy. It’s actually one of the most intelligent forms of writing. It is one of the toughest forms of writing and one form that needs to be exercised with a lot of caution. So I’ve truly, truly had a lot of fun doing it. But where my films like Bhakshak or any of my other films that were more dramatic and where the themes were heavier, I naturally as a person. I’m somebody who’s extremely empathetic and I am somebody who really seeks stories that can bring about a change. Bhakshak for me is something, even though those characters are so away from me, it’s a lot of hard work that goes into becoming those characters, but I feel there’s a lot of hard work in performing comedy. I’ve been very fortunate to have had a second chance to work with Mudassar, and I really hope that my journey with him continues into more projects where he can discover a newer facet of me. I trust him blindly as a director. He’s truly a very, very close ally, a close friend, and he’s evolved so much as a filmmaker. For me, Khel Khel Mein was by far one of his best films that he’s ever made. I think the best part about Mudassar is that he has a lot of sensitivity, and he reads women in a very beautiful way. It’s so refreshing to see a filmmaker that even in a commercial potboiler does not leave his ideology and always has his women with agency. I think his flair for writing, his love for cinema only keeps getting deeper with every film that he makes, and he’s a purist. He is in the business of making movies because he deeply, deeply loves cinema. He’s truly one of those few creators that are left that are in it for the love of it more than the commercial need of it.
What, according to you, is the USP of Mere Husband Ki Biwi?
I think the USP of this comedy is that you know, even though it is a two-girl, one-boy story, you know, two women and a man stuck between them, I think the beauty of the story is that there’s nothing adulterous that is happening in the film. I am playing Arjun’s ex-wife. My character is Ankur Khanna’s ex-wife, and we’ve been separated, and there must be a reason why we are separated, right? Why a divorce happens. Nobody goes through a divorce happily, and finally, Ankur is ready to move on in life. He’s found the love of his life, and his ex comes back, and she has forgotten her memory. You know, this situation creates a lot of comedy, and because Ankur Khanna, the character, is such a green flag, he still wants to extend his support to his past relationship because she is going through a rather tough time in her life and that creates a lot of confusion, a lot of comedy of errors and then you see these two strong women that actually do all the comedy and it’s so refreshing and our families get involved and there’s a lot of Khichdi, Raita Phel Jata Hai, Kalesh hota hai and phir wo Kalesh hum sab finally samet-te hain. And you know what?
I am listening.
With all the comedy, all the laugh out loud moments, there is a phenomenal cast that is supporting these moments: Tiku Talsania ji, Shakti Kapoor ji, Mukesh Rishi ji, Anita Raj ma’am, Dino Morea, Aditya Seal, Harsh Gujral who’s such a phenomenal comedian and is truly one of the biggest assets that the film could have had. I think at the core of this film, there is a beautiful comedy, but there is a beautiful human drama as well, you know. We rarely see films that kind of comment on a man-woman relationship that failed, you know. So and also a very beautiful thing about the film is that it kind of gets you to reflect on many a times where relationships end and it’s just not a husband-wife, girlfriend-boyfriend or two lovers. It’s just not about lovers. It can also be about a brother and a sister or two friends. It’s because in purity and in love, there shouldn’t be ego. There should be self-respect, but there shouldn’t be ego, and the film makes a beautiful comment on the same.
Your film comes on the heels of a big success Chhaava?
Well, I want to congratulate the team of Chhaava. I am a very, very big Vickey Kaushal fan, and I am so happy for him because, you know, we started our careers around the same time. My Dum Laga Ke Haisha and his Masaan came around the same time. I’ve had an opportunity to do a film with him, and I truly feel he’s one of the finest actors in our country and just to see the kind of success that Chhaawa has got just makes me very happy because before we can act or anything I’m a lover of cinema. I’m a cinema buff. Our films need to do well. Our films need to be celebrated, and I feel when a celebration like this happens, then the audience is in a mood to go to cinemas, and I really hope that the positivity that Chhaava got in the hearts of our audiences is also reflected onto our film and I really want to congratulate Vickey, Laxman Sir, Rashmika, Vineet, everybody who is associated with the film.
