Bhumi Pednekar on her journey in Bollywood from Dum Laga Ke Haisha to the Royals

Transcript

00:00You stepped into films with Dumb Laga Ke Haisha, which was your first movie.

00:03That's right.

00:04And you had a remarkable weight transformation there where you gained 30 kilos and you lost them soon after.

00:11So how did you do that?

00:12How did I do that?

00:13Well, to begin with, my character required that.

00:17And a lot of it came from my passion to wanting to be an actor.

00:21I would have done anything for my first part and even after.

00:24So it took me a year to gain all of that weight.

00:27It was, after 35 kilos, I stopped counting.

00:29So I don't really know how much did I actually reach on the scale.

00:33But it was a lot of food.

00:35How does one gain weight in a healthy manner?

00:37So for me, it was naan and butter chicken and dal makhani and pizzas.

00:42Back then, I ate a non-vegetarian.

00:44But I was having a blast.

00:45I can't lie.

00:46So you're a vegetarian now?

00:48I'm a vegetarian now.

00:49Does that have something to do with your UN association?

00:52A lot of it actually has to do with the work that I've done in the space of sustainability.

00:57There's a lot of knowledge that came my way.

00:59And I felt like, okay, the first step towards my real contribution would be maybe moving towards a more plant-based diet.