Hi sexy!��������� Bhumika Chawla greets a lady who drops by. We strain our ears hoping we heard her right for it just doesn���������t seem to go with Bhumika���������s butter-wouldn���������t-melt-in-her-mouth image that���������s stamped in our minds over the last decade. The beautiful actress who���������s best remembered as the simple girl next door in Okkadu or the non-glam journo in Anasuya seems to have lots more surprises in store as she unveils her smokin��������� hot new look.
���������I���������ve never gone beyond salwar kurtas and jeans, but my husband
Bharat (Thakur) says I should be wearing dresses more often,��������� she says with a warm smile. Marriage sure has changed her we observe and she agrees, ���������As a single woman, I felt the necessity to maintain a certain decorum as I had to fend for myself, but now that Bharat���������s by my side, I am bolder. He���������s my support and there to take care of me.��������� In an industry where marriage spells doom for a leading actress, it has worked the other way for Bhumika.
For someone who was worked with most A-line actors in Tollywood and Bollywood and has done her share of meaningful roles, carried films on the strength of her performance without succumbing to the pressure of being a ���������glam girl��������� (a T-town synonym for skin show) what���������s her opinion on the subject? ���������It���������s all about demand and supply ��������� if you supply they will demand!��������� she laughs. ���������I don���������t condemn skin show, but it has to be aesthetic. You need to have the figure to carry off those outfits, otherwise it won���������t look good,��������� she puts it mildly but her mischievous smile speaks volumes. Her second prerequisite, if she ever had to wear a revealing outfit, is that ���������it has to justify the role and should not be just for a song and dance routine��������� she says.
Bhumika who keeps ���������shuttling between Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad��������� these days is busy wrapping up ���������a women-centric Telugu film��������� and a Tamil film Kalavadiya Pozhudugal with Prabhu Deva and Prakash Raj which she describes as a ���������fun as well as enriching experience��������� . Bhumika���������s new office is teeming with activity as her first solo production venture Takita Takita is in the final stages. ���������We are introducing eight new actors in this film and I have a small role in the film. It is a story about college life and beyond. It is about the decisions that youth take and also the decisions that parents have to take at this point in their lives,��������� she reveals.
Bhumika does seem to tilt heavily in favour of meaningful roles and she agrees, ���������The two Telugu films I���������m doing now have powerful messages to convey and even if four people���������s lives would change for the better because of it I���������d consider it as a chance that God has given me to impact their lives. If I did Naa Autograph it was for the same reason,��������� she says and adds that all her roles are special to her but she considers her roles in Okkadu, Missamma, Anasuya, Gandhi My Father and Family as ���������memorable ones���������.
Meanwhile Bharat walks in with the colourful posters designed for their film and the room next door resounds to the music Bobo Shashi���������s scored for the film. Seem like a good husband-wife business team. But Bhumika���������s quick to counter, ���������Even if I understand business I choose to not involve myself in it. It���������s very important for a couple to maintain healthy boundaries and respect each other. It saves a lot of emotional friction.��������� So is this the secret of a happy married life? ���������So far, so good,��������� she says, crossing her fingers and goes on to add, ���������I still feel Bharat is my boyfriend and when I tell him that, he says that���������s good as many couples try hard to achieve that state, while it comes easily to me!��������� And what���������s the big lesson marriage has taught her we quiz and she replies playfully, ���������You better have a sense of humour!���������
And how does Bhumika relax? ���������I watch a movie everyday. I practice yoga when I have the time, but I have no strict routines. I���������m a voracious reader ��������� right now I am reading Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts ��������� it���������s unputdownable!��������� Bhumika���������s love for literature transcends language barriers and she had once proclaimed her desire to get Chalam���������s Telugu literary classics translated into English, so that the world would get to read his stories. That���������s been put on the backburner, but Bhumika says she���������d be able to do it ���������only if Indraganti
Mohan Krishna (who directed her in Maya Bazaar) and I team up again.���������
Bhumika���������s also tried her hand at publishing and though the magazine has closed down, the online portal is still functional, she tells us. ���������It was then I realised the kind of hard work that goes into bringing a magazine. It���������s not an easy task,��������� she says shaking her head.
While in Mumbai, her favourite way of relaxing is ���������to watch the sun rise over the sea, over a cup of tea, from my balcony.��������� Mumbai���������s the place Bhumika says she���������s ���������stayed the most number of years��������� as her father who served in the army would be posted to different parts of India. Recalling the 26/11 tragedy, she recounts that she was travelling towards Bandra at that time and had to turn back following the terrorist attacks. On whether she followed the Kasab trial, Bhumika says she does not like to linger on negativity, though she sounds worked up over the ���������long-winding trial��������� but then adds that ���������the government must have had its reasons���������. She also practices what she preaches and her life mantra is to ���������try and not hurt anybody. It���������s easy to put down others but as my father would say ���������there���������s always a better way to say things���������.��������� We couldn���������t agree more!