Bhumika Dube, known for her performances in 'The Railway Men,' 'Dahan,' and 'Motichoor Chaknachoor,' is set to play the female lead in the film 'Barah By Barah,' written by Gaurav Madan and Sunny Lahiri. Slated to release on May 24 in cinemas, the film is based on the story of a photographer who clicks the last photographs of the dead at Varanasi's Manikarnika ghat and goes on a journey through the periphery of the circle of life and death. The film, produced and presented by Jignesh Patel’s Amdavaad Pictures, features an ensemble cast including Gyanendra Tripathi, Geetika Vidya Ohlyan, Harish Khanna, and Akash Sinha alongside Bhumika Dube.
In an interview with ABP Live over email, Bhumika Dube shares the film's narrative, talks about the character and also gives insights into gender roles in modern Indian society.
ABOUT THE MOVIE AND HER CHARACTER:
Talking about the movie, Bhumika said, "The film revolves around a character named Sooraj, a death photographer at the burning banks of Manikarnika, who is going through troubled times. His ancient town of Kashi is being demolished as part of a large-scale civic beautification project. At the same time, the exquisite cameras on smartphones threaten to make his work irrelevant. He stands at a crossroads - either he continues as he is or he looks for greener pastures to secure a better future for his family."
Previously, Bhumika had shared some insights about her character 'Meera' in a statement saying, "Meena, my character, is from a small town called Indore and got married in Benaras. She is an ordinary Indian housewife, a familiar face in our daily lives. She runs a small tailoring business from home. Usually, such characters are depicted in a monotonous way, but Gaurav had a different vision for Meena. He gave depth, resilience, and power to her character. She is ambitious. She is a decision-maker and has a voice in her nuclear family."
BHUMIKA ON GENDER ROLES IN INDIAN SOCIETY:
In 'Barah By Barah', Bhumika plays the role of an ordinary Indian housewife who dares to dream making her a powerful character.
Talking about gender roles in modern Indian society, Bhumika said, "Many people still stick to traditional ideas that men and women should behave in ways that fall into specific categories determined solely by their gender. However, male or female gender-specific identities are irrelevant in modern, civilised society. Gender roles are social constructs developed over time and are not based on natural human behaviour. This is because gender roles evolved as a way to organise the necessary tasks done in early human society. Nevertheless, in many modern societies today, there is no need for traditional gender roles, because both men and women can do many of the same necessary tasks, thereby making gender-specific behaviours irrelevant."
BHUMIKA ON WOMEN AND INDIAN CINEMA:
Bhumika plays an ordinary Indian housewife in this film and although housewives do the toughest jobs, their work is considered minimal in most Indian households. Talking about how her character tackles this scenario Bhumika said, "Indian films are that of a stereotypical woman, from the passive wife of Dadasaheb Phalke’s Raja Harishchandra (1913) to the long-suffering but heroic mother figure of Mother India (1957), it has been a challenging journey for women in Hindi cinema. But Meena’s character beautifully tackles all the roles, including a small entrepreneur, she is independent in her way and breaks all the age-old stereotypes."
"We have come a long way but still have a long road ahead speaking in the context of our Indian film industry. It is one of the largest in the world, and one has to put an effort then to understand that the industry which is so vast caters to half of the world's population. In today's globalised world, are we aware enough of how are female actors treated?? What effect do films have on perceptions of beauty, sexuality, and gender? We just need more sensibility and awareness," she added.
HER EXPERIENCE IN 'BARAH BY BARAH':
Sharing her experience in this movie, Bhumika said that for her 'Barah by Barah' has become an extended family in Mumbai.
"Gaurav and the 'Barah by Barah' cast are extended families now, it's like finding your tribe with whom you can collaborate again and again, I worked with Gaurav again on a Storytel project, where I narrated his audio series, playing 9 characters at once. And I wish for more opportunities to collaborate with him," she told ABP Live.
"Every project leaves us with some beautiful insights and memories, this one resolved a small childhood trauma, I was a fearful kid back then, and death was not a comfortable topic to discuss or to encounter, I have missed all the funerals of my loved ones, but while shooting at Manikarnika my perspective of seeing death has changed, there is an acceptance now, which lead to serenity in my personality," she added.
Meanwhile, on the work front, Bhumika has the Netflix original film 'Phir Aayee Haseen Dilruba', featuring Vikrant Massey, Taapsee Pannu, and Sunny Kaushal. Prime Video original series 'Bandwaale', written by Swanand Kirkire and Ankur Tewari, directed by Akshat Verma, starring Shalini Pandey and Zahan Kapoor in the lead roles.