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The Royals: Bhumi Pednekar discusses society's POV on 'woman that owns up to her desires', recalls experiences that made her fearless
Bhumi Pednekar opens up about her fearless nature, society’s discomfort with ambitious women, and how playing Sophia in The Royals helped her embrace vulnerability.
Bhumi Pednekar is back with another powerful performance in The Royals, now streaming on Netflix. In an interview with Times Now, the actress opened up about her character, Sophia, a self-made, ambitious woman navigating love and life. Bhumi shared that she strongly relates to Sophia, especially because both of them own their desires without apology. “I think, in general, people are extremely scared of a woman that owns up to her desires and her ambition and what she wants out of life. And I’ve always done that,” she said.
She credited her boldness and self-reliance to her upbringing and the need to be independent from an early age. “A lot of that fearlessness also comes from the life that I’ve lived, the upbringing that I’ve had, and also, very early on in life, I had to just take care of myself. That’s actually a beautiful thing. I’m not bitter about it. I’m not sad about it. I am very, very fortunate that I became this fiercely independent this early on,” she added.
Bhumi explained that one of her favorite things about Sophia is how layered the character is. She admired the fact that Sophia is both driven and nurturing, and said that she hasn’t lost the part of herself that still craves love. Bhumi revealed that this struggle, balancing ambition with vulnerability, is something she personally resonates with.
She admitted that, like Sophia, she fears that love might one day distract her from her career. This fear, she believes, stems from the tough path she had to walk to build her career. Bhumi found comfort in how Sophia channels her trauma into her work, something she says she has also done in her own life.
What stood out to her about Sophia, though, was her openness. Bhumi shared that while she herself may have been more guarded in the past, Sophia embraces different energies and emotions more freely. Playing this role helped Bhumi grow emotionally and become more open to love in her real life.
The actress described the experience of portraying Sophia as healing. She said she celebrated the character wholeheartedly and felt a deep connection with her. Sophia, in many ways, felt like an extension of Bhumi herself. The Royals, which also stars Ishaan Khatter, Zeenat Aman, and others, is now available to stream on Netflix.
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