Charting her own course

From being a model to having acted in many musical videos in Hindi, it has been a long journey for Bhumika Chawla, the actress with the girl-next-door look. With 12 years of experience behind her, today she is firmly enconsced in films down South. Having made her debut in the Telugu film Yevakudu in 2000, she bravely charted her own course, making her presence felt in several regional films —Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bhojpuri. Hailing from a traditional Punjabi family, she came to Mumbai with starry aspirations. However, with no good, 'exciting' offers forthcoming from Bollywood, she decided to carve a niche for herself in films down South. A call from Great India Entertainment changed the course of her career. "Since I was not keen on the kind of roles that were offered to me in Hindi films, I took up Yevakudu. It happened so simply; I went for the audition and before I came back to Mumbai, I got a call from them stating that I was working in the film!" While essaying the role of a simple college girl living in a hostel in her debut film Yevakudu, she has gone on to play a challenging role in her latest film April Fool. Directed by Krishnaswamy Srikanth Iyengar, she will be paired opposite Jagapathi Babu. Playing the role of a journalist, Bhumika says, "the film has a deja vu kind of feel. A socio-comedy fantasy film, I play a character who reacts to situations in different ways at different times. There are certain circumstances which are repeated and in each of the situations, I come across as a different person. My response to each of them is different, thus confusing the hero."

She faced many obstacles — language being one of them. And indeed, Bhumika initially found it tough going. "I had to work hard as I did not understand a word of Telugu. We have a senior translator who sits on the sets the whole day and translates the dialogue and meaning. However, after a time one gets used to it. Many actresses are doing it. With great teams and support we sort of manage to overcome the language barrier." The actress though has not dubbed for any of the films she has worked in. In fact, she is aided by her friend, Savita Reddy who picks up the finer nuances of her voice so well that, "sometimes, people get confused whether it is my voice or of the dubbing artiste," reveals Chawla.

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