Bhumi Pednekar says working with her CRUSH Imran Khan helped her heal, opens up about adding Satish to her name

Bhumi Pednekar has opened up about a deeply introspective phase in her life and career following the release of Netflix India’s ‘The Royals’. The actor revealed that she took a nearly 10-month-long pause after facing criticism for the show, choosing instead to step back and recalibrate. Since then, she has completed Prime Video India’s crime thriller ‘Daldal’ and Danish Aslam’s ‘Adhoore Hum Adhoore Tum’, where she stars opposite Imran Khan. As she prepares for a courtroom drama slated for release this March, Bhumi says she feels creatively renewed.Reflecting on her decision to take a break, Bhumi made it clear she holds no regrets about her past work. “No, actually I don’t have second thoughts about any work I’ve done. I’ve loved everything I’ve done in my life. I loved ‘The Royals’ as well. I really enjoyed the show,” she shared with SCREEN.Explaining the reason behind her hiatus, she added, “I’ve done 25 films and shows so far. I want to improve as a performer, as an artist, my skill set.” Bhumi admitted she felt emotionally and creatively exhausted. “I felt depleted as an actor. That’s why it was important for me to step back, go do workshops, study, read, experience life, travel, and get in touch with the human side of me,” she shared.Bhumi believes her perspective shifted significantly while watching her performance in ‘Daldal’. “Hundred percent. I’ve just become kinder to myself. I’d forgotten that,” she said, adding that working on the show played a crucial role in her healing. “Doing ‘Daldal’ was a healing for me.”She also spoke about the importance of emotional safety for artists. “There are people around you who have faith in you and form a really strong safety net. Now, more than ever, I needed that,” she explained. “If there’s any great work that comes, it also comes from that place of being unsure.”Another significant change for Bhumi has been adding her father’s name to her professional identity. For the first time, she has been credited as Bhumi Satish Pednekar. “Yes. I wanted my dad’s name to be there because it just felt like the right time,” she said.Calling it a deeply personal decision, Bhumi explained, “It was a process of shedding everything… somewhere a part of my healing.” She added that the time away from film sets allowed her to process personal loss. “I didn’t have a lot of time to deal with whatever happened with my father. I got all that time now in the past few months.”Bhumi also shared that working on ‘Adhoore Hum Adhoore Tum’ opposite Imran Khan was emotionally comforting. Admitting to being a longtime admirer, she said the experience was healing. “I had a huge crush on him,” she confessed, adding that returning to set with familiar energy helped restore her love for acting. Directed by Amrit Raj Gupta and produced by Vikram Malhotra and Suresh Triveni, the series is based on Vish Dhamija’s best-selling book ‘Bhendi Bazaar’, Daldal stars Bhumi Satish Pednekkar as DCP Rita Ferreira, alongside Samara Tijori and Aditya Rawal in leading roles. Daldal has begun streaming on Amazon Prime Video.