15th August 2015: She proved her mettle and confidence by playing the unusual overweight, ambitious small town girl in ‘Dum Laga Ke Haisha’. Now, Bhumi Pednekar, sans the weight & with loads more confidence has won the Best Actor- Female award at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne.
In this gem of a sleeper hit, the character of Sandhya in this film broke barriers & brought in a fresh new talent in Bollywood with Bhumi Pednekar. Her role won hearts and minds, which is evident in the fact that Bhumi has won this prize over and above experienced leading ladies like Anushka Sharma in “NH 10”, Kalki Koechlin in ‘Margherita With A Straw’ and Deepika Padukone in ‘Piku’. In a year where Bollywood’s leading ladies have made great impact with substantial roles, Bhumi’s victory at this international film jamboree is encouragement for a genuinely talented actress!
Elated with the win, Bhumi said, “I am so happy that Sandhya was accepted without question by audiences across the world. I believe my hard work has paid off in this applause that my character won. To win overseas at a diaspora centric event, feels even more special!”
With this award from IFFM, Bhumi is set to take on new challenges onscreen.
