Bhumi Pednekar is the ‘hero’ of Durgavati: ‘Need to look at the term gender-neutrally’

Actor Bhumi Pednekar, who has worked in diverse films and displayed her versatility in the past year, has also faced criticism for her choices. The latest is her upcoming film Durgavati, being presented by Akshay Kumar. She has been facing flak for calling herself the 'hero' of the movie.

The actress said "People need to look at the terms 'hero' and 'heroine' in a gender-neutral way, and not from the lens of Bollywood. If someone asks me who my 'hero' is, I'll say, it's my mother. I wouldn't call her the 'heroine' of my life, would I?"

Bhumi's role in Saand Ki Aankh, alongside Taapsee Pannu, drew flak for the makers roping in young actors to play old women. In Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer Bala, Bhumi played a dark-skinned character and she was again criticised for darkening her skin using makeup to look the part.

Talking about the criticism, Bhumi had said, "By that logic, a naturally fuller woman should have played Sandhya in Dum Laga Ke Haisha. I'm an actor. It's my job to transform into different characters. I respect people's opinion, and I did take a step back to think about what they were saying. But I think I will continue to pick such roles because I like challenging myself. And let's not forget that there simply aren't enough meaty roles written for women."

Durgavati is a thriller and will go on floors by January. The film will be directed by Ashok. It is not clear whether the film is a remake of Ashok's hit Telugu film Bhaagamathie which featured Anushka Shetty, Unni Mukundan, Jayaram, Usha Sarath, Vidyulekha Raman in lead roles.