EXCLUSIVE: G Ashok REVEALS why he picked Bhumi Pednekar as lead despite her not being 1st choice for Durgamati
As per director G Ashok, Bhumi Pednekar has worked really hard for her role in Durgamati and will be seen in an entirely different role.
Bhumi Pednekar has been creating a lot of buzz in the town courtesy her upcoming movie Durgamati. The horror drama happens to be the remake of Telugu movie Bhaagamathie featuring Anushka Shetty and Bhumi, who is getting into South actress’ shoes, will be seen in a never seen before avatar in the movie. The trailer of Durgamati has received a stupendous response and the fans have been going gaga over Bhumi’s stint. But did you know Bhumi wasn’t the first choice for Durgamati?
During an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, director G Ashok revealed that Bhumi wasn’t the first name that came to the makers’ mind while finalising the cast and they did ponder over different actress’ name. However, the team unanimously finalised Bhumi’s name for the lead role in the movie. When quizzed about what made him choose Bhumi, Ashok was all praises for the actress. “She isn’t the actress who works on glamour, she is a performance-based actor. This character needs performance as it has different layers, aggressiveness, pain… she has expressed it all perfectly. In all choice, she was the right choice,” he added.
Furthermore, the director stated that Bhumi did not just work hard for Durgamati, but she also made sure to do the necessary homework to ensure she isn’t repeating Anushka. Ashok mentioned, “Bhumi has already been doing different roles be it Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Saand Ki Aankh, etc. This time, she also tried a different role and she did her proper homework for the same. She was well prepared and gave her best performance. She gave a fabulous output. She didn’t want to repeat the elements of the original movie, she tried not to repeat Anushka. She worked hard and prepared herself well for the character. After a point, you will see Bhumi taking over the entire movie. She is a superb artist.”
Apart from Bhumi, Durgamati also features Jisshu Sengupta, Arshad Warsi and Mahie Gill in key roles. The movie is slated to release on December 11 on OTT platform.