For her first film, Bhumi Pednekkar increased her weight dramatically, a choice that was rare and uncommon for a debutant leading actress. But for Bhumi, transformation has never been just a creative decision; it has been a survival strategy. Looking back at the last few years of her career, the actor admits that constant physical and emotional reinvention came at a cost. “I think I went through so many transformations that in the past few years, I kind of forgot who I actually am. How do I look? Who is this girl?” she reflects in a conversation on mid-day’s Sit With Hitlist.

Bhumi on criticism around Bala

In her decade-long journey, Bhumi says she has undergone drastic physical changes for her roles. “For me, the only way to survive the industry was that I needed to go through a physical transformation because no other girl was doing that,” she says. From playing a 70-year-old woman to starring in Bala, a film that confronted colour bias in Indian society, Bhumi found herself constantly shape-shifting to tell stories that mattered to her.