When Bhumi Pednekar was shaken after being thrown out of film school: ‘I was just partying away’

Actor Bhumi Pednekar once talked about how her life changed after she was thrown out of a film school at the age of 18. She was studying acting at Subhash Ghai’s film institute, Whistling Woods in Mumbai. Recalling how her life changed after the incident, she revealed how it made her work harder than before. (Also read: Bhumi Pednekar makes fun of Rajkummar Rao’s holiday look)

Bhumi made her Bollywood debut in Dum Laga Ke Haisha in 2015 and bagged the Filmfare Award for the best female debut. Before her acting debut, she worked as an assistant casting director at Yash Raj Films for six years. On Monday, Bhumi turned a year older.

In 2019, Bhumi spoke about how her mother took an education loan for her acting classes, which her father wasn’t aware of initially. While the loan was paid off by Bhumi herself, she revealed that she started working within a year and a half of being thrown out of her film school.

She told Mint, “In Bombay in (classes) XI and XII, nobody studies. They are only sitting and eating vada pav. I was thrown out for my attendance. I was just partying away. I am glad I was thrown out because that day, I was shaken. I was like, my father is p****d off, my mum trusted me and I f****d up. That’s when someone told me, in Yash Raj Films (YRF) they are looking for an assistant casting director. Once I started working in YRF, I realized that’s what I wanted to do. I worked very hard but I had no idea what I was doing. I was 18!”

Bhumi will be next seen with Akshay Kumar in Raksha Bandhan, releasing on August 11. She also has The Lady Killer alongside Arjun Kapoor, marking their first film together. Produced by Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, and Shaailesh R Singh, the film will be directed by Ajay Bahl. Besides, Bhumi is also a part of Govinda Mera Naam, Bheed, and Bhakshak.