Bhumi Pednekar Talks Netflix’s ‘The Royals,’ Prime Video’s ‘Daldal,’ Climate Activism and Women’s Safety in Bollywood (EXCLUSIVE)

Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar, who co-hosted this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI) opening ceremony, has revealed details about her upcoming projects including Netflix series “The Royals” and Prime Video psychological thriller “Daldal.”

Speaking about “The Royals,” for which a teaser has been released, Pednekar said: “It’s my first long format. I’m very, very happy that our collaborators are Netflix. It’s going to be magnanimous. It’s romance, it’s comedy. I love that genre myself.” The actor added that while the show falls into the rom-com category, it features “layered” and “nuanced” performances from a cast that includes both established and new actors, including veteran Zeenat Aman and “The Perfect Couple” breakout star Ishaan Khatter.

Pednekar also discussed her role in Prime Video series “Daldal,” describing it as being on the opposite end of the spectrum from “The Royals.” “I haven’t in my career read a character that’s this complex,” she said of the psychological thriller.

During a panel discussion on women’s safety in the Indian film industry at IFFI, Pednekar shared the stage with actors Khushbu Sundar and Suhasini Mani Ratnam, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, and actor, author and film administrator Vani Tripathi Tikoo. “The Indian film industry has generally been quite safe for women,” she noted, while acknowledging that challenges exist. “Of course, there are antisocial elements, and of course, there are perpetrators, Pednekar said. “But I think today they those people are called out, as opposed to back in the day. And I think the idea was just about, how do you make the environment more safe? And this is just not an India problem. This is a global conversation today.”

As an advocate for the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in India, Pednekar expressed serious concerns about climate change. “Climate change is the single largest threat to humanity,” she stated. “Right now as we speak, schools in Delhi are shut. You’re taking away right to education from children because your pollution is so bad.”

Addressing the trend of climate change deniers ascending to positions of power, Pednekar said, “We all have a voice, and we all have an opportunity that our voice is heard. So yes, there might be people in power that might negate a scientific fact that the world is going through right now, but there’s nothing stronger than the power of the people.”

This marks Pednekar’s third appearance at IFFI. She underlined the festival’s importance for emerging talent: “We should make sure that people within our fraternity, new filmmakers, young filmmakers, young minds, have a platform like this where they can come and celebrate, exchange ideas, find ways of creating the art that they believe in.”