Different kind of pressure with films releasing on digital platforms, says Bhumi Pednekar

Actor Bhumi Pednekar says there is pressure before the release of every film regardless of the platform it arrives on.

While the fate of a theatrical release hinges on its box office collection, a movie launching directly on a streamer has to compete for views with global content available on the viewer’s fingertips.

”On a digital platform, there is so much choice, so it has to be an incredible film to hold on to a certain audience. There is a lot of pressure. Also, people are very brutal with their opinion,” Pednekar told PTI.

The 33-year-old actor, whose previous films “Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitare” and “Durgamati” were direct-to-digital releases, said it is easy to skip to something next that is more exciting on over-the-top (OTT) platforms.

”On digital platforms, you really have to be destructively good to get love, like ‘Shershaah’. The pressure is there but just a different kind of pressure,” she added.

Her latest release “Govinda Naam Mera” also released on a streamer. Also starring Vicky Kaushal and Kiara Advani, the comedy thriller is available for streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

In the film, directed by Shashank Khaitan, Pednekar plays Gauri, the abusive wife of Govinda (Kaushal), a background dancer trying to make it big in the film industry.

The actor said she doesn’t follow a set process to prepare for a role.

”Every film has its own individual process. Every director imagines all characters and everything in the script. You, as an actor, think very unilaterally. It’s very important to kind of adapt to what they want.

”But I personally love creating characters. I do a bit of background work but it’s all in the limitation of what my director wants me to do. I have realised there is no method to filmmaking as an actor. The method is not having one and kind of discovering what you want every time you play a new character,” she said.

Pednekar has a diverse slate of upcoming films, which includes Anubhav Sinha’s sociopolitical drama ”Bheed” with Rajkummar Rao, “Bhakshak”, backed by Shah Rukh Khan’s banner Red Chillies Entertainment, suspense drama ”The Lady Killer” opposite Arjun Kapoor, and a quirky thriller “Afwaah” with Nawazuddin Siddiqui.