Playing a rape survivor who exacts revenge with the help of her progressive father was a disturbing experience for actress Aditi Rao Hydari.
She plays the titular role in the violent retribution drama Bhoomi, directed by Omung Kumar of Mary Kom fame.
“It was pretty torturous and humiliating to go through it. It ends up making you feel very, very tortured,” said Hydari in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!. But Bhoomi isn’t just about a pair going on a homicidal rampage.
“It is relevant for today’s times with it [rape] happening every twenty minutes here. But at the core, it’s an emotional father-daughter story that will touch your heart,” said Kumar, its director.
Set in Agra’s small town, Bhoomi plays a wedding planner whose life takes a drastic turn when she is assaulted. According to the director, the emotion that every rape survivor goes through has been tapped in this film. Excerpts from our interview with the actress Hydari, who takes centre stage in the revenge drama:
Tell us about Bhoomi and your role.
Bhoomi, set in a small town in Agra, explores the relationship between a father and a daughter. They are simple folks, but what sets this film apart is that you normally associate rebellion and power-play with big cities. But here’s a father who’s progressive in a small town and who brings up his daughter Bhoomi to be empowered. She’s a girl who lives by her own decisions. But something traumatic rocks their world: a violent episode which comes along with silencing, victim shaming and bullying. So it was very important to tell a story like this. We are not making a judgement on whether they are right or wrong, but we are showing what would happen if something on that level happens to a family. But they refuse to be silenced and their bond, love and support for each other shines through. I hope that Bhoomi will reach to a larger audience because daughters stand by you through thick and thin and it’s important that their families stand by them. There’s also this poignant dialogue where she gets drunk by mistake and asks: “A girl has her maika [parent’s home] and her sasural [her in-laws’ home], but where is her home?”.
How difficult was it to film the rape scenes?
It was torturous and humiliating. Usually I can switch on and off from a scene and I function like that instinctively. But I found it hard to disconnect from some of the scenes in Bhoomi. It would take some time for me to get my breath back and be that usual monkey that I am on the sets. But Sanjay sir helped me a lot. He kept the atmosphere on the sets light… Filming those scenes made me think about those real instances of rape. It was tough and dark. Even though I am a positive person, it was difficult for me to do those scenes.
But why is that Bhoomi, who is so empowered, needs her father — a male — to fight her battles?
Once or twice, I was about to tell my director that I hope the girl is not going to take the regular route of waiting for her father to do something. But I wanted to do this film because a woman faces violation — in varying degrees — on an everyday basis. Here’s the thing, a girl can get out and do exactly what she wants when faced with a difficulty. But when you have your sister, your brother or somebody that you call your own, then your strength is multiplied hundred fold. Here in Bhoomi, she’s strong and she’s charting her own path. But her family standing by her during her most difficult phase in her life is a beautiful thing. She’s not some weakling. Several people have told me that you have played fragile characters in the past, and this is the first time you are playing a strong character. My response? Sorry, that’s in your gaze. All my characters have been strong. Just because I have a knife in my hand and I am shouting, that doesn’t make me strong. What makes me strong is the strength from within. Why do you think that a father standing by his daughter is not a sign of strength? In my opinion, it shows her strength and his strength. But when you see the film, you will realise that the girl empowers her father and that’s beautiful.
Was there a method to your acting?
As a girl, you may not have faced such a brutal experience, but there is a certain kind of sisterhood where a woman does understands what it is to feel that kind of violation.
You read about it every day. Sometimes, you experience it at a wholly different level each day. For instance, women are treated differently from men, in any given industry. We are not taken very seriously. We are commented on our looks rather than our talent. Recently during my interviews for Bhoomi, I have been introduced in a particular way, and Sanjay sir has been introduced in a particular way. Usually, I am introduced as the “gorgeous Aditi Rao Hydari”. But in my head I am like: “you can say gorgeous and talented”. I have worked six years in Bollywood and I have worked very hard. Though I love being praised for my looks, but that’s just a part of me. There is that inherent sexism and it is so hard-wired that the girls don’t even realise it’s happening to them. So somewhere there is an understanding of what it feels to be violated. While I felt wretched and humiliated, I felt some real emotions during those assault scenes. In a film, you are just re-enacting what is real. The idea here is took fear in the eye, I have to somehow deal with it. I felt real emotions even when I was being gagged or trying to jump off a bridge because of fear. I have never learnt to act, I function on instinct. But in the time between action and cut, magic is created.
Was it easy to consider Sanjay Dutt as a father figure?
He’s an icon with a rock star persona, but what helped is the realisation that I am as old as his daughter. He may have that eternal rock star quality, but he has a paternal air about him, too. He is very protective and he’s like BFG [sBig Friendly Giant]. He’s so perceptive and he used to make me laugh knowing that the film was a difficult one for me.
Has it been easy to chart your own career in Bollywood?
Every baby step that I have taken in Bollywood is a step forward. It’s a difficult industry and it is male driven, hero-centric space. No hero has ever recommended my name and I don’t have any hand on my head, but I don’t crib about it. There have been times when I have cried because I had to opt out of certain projects for various reasons. Somewhere in my head, I know that I am never going to be a plaything on a set and then be an actor. I keep hoping that people will call me for role based on my talent and not because of my collaboration off-camera. I am not judging anybody, but it is difficult when you don’t have any backing. It’s a struggle to find work. But I wake up in the morning every day and I thank the guardian angels for my work with directors who respect me. I am the posterchild for doing work in a way that keeps your dignity and self-respect intact. The success may come slower and the climb may be uphill, but it’s worth it.
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Bhoomi releases in the UAE on September 21.
