Bhumi Pednekar recalls giving 8 months of her life to Sonchiriya thinking it will be blockbuster: ‘It was out of theatres in 6 days’

In Sonchiriya, Bhumi Pednekar essays the role of Indumati Tomar, a girl from the Chambal Valley, who runs away from her house to protect a girl child. The film failed at the box office, despite getting positive reviews.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | May 6, 2023 11:03 AM IST

3 min read

Sonchiriya Bhumi Pednekar Sushant Singh Rajput box office collection Day 2

Bhumi Pednekar in a still from Sonchiriya.

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Actor Bhumi Pednekar has created a unique space for herself in the Hindi film industry in the short span of eight years. Her filmography is a mix of conventional and unconventional movies, and several of them have been box office hits. But the one film whose commercial failure really ‘broke’ Bhumi’s heart is Abhishek Chaubey’s 2018 gangster drama Sonchiriya.

In Sonchiriya, Bhumi essays the role of Indumati Tomar, a woman from the Chambal valley, who runs away from her house to protect a girl child. The film, which revolves around the dacoits of Chambal, also starred Manoj Bajpayee, Sushant Singh Rajput, Ranvir Shorey, and Ashutosh Rana, among others.

In a recent interaction with former journalist Rajeev Masand, Bhumi shared that she picks her battles wisely and tries to mix things up in her career, by choosing films that she wants to do for her creative satisfaction and films that will also do good business. She did Sonchiriya for both reasons. However, the film couldn’t pull people to the theatres and was out of theatres within a week.

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Bhumi said, “When I did Sonchiriya, it was off the theatres in six days. It was maybe my first heartbreak, because every film of mine was a blockbuster before that. The four films (Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Toilet Ek Prem Katha, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Lust Stories) I did before that, did incredible numbers and travelled really well. I am on an all-time high, and then came Sonchiriya, a film I was so attached to because I gave that film eight months of my life.” The actor shared that she was confident that Sonchiriya had all the ingredients of a blockbuster. “But the film was off cinemas in six days, and it really broke my heart,” Bhumi said.

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However, Sonchiriya has gained a cult following over the years, and this has also helped Bhumi in grabbing more projects. “The film still lives on. When people talk about my filmography, they first mention Dum Laga Ke Haisha and then they mention Sonchiriya. Some directors have given me work after watching me in Sonchiriya. So maybe it did not find a larger audience but it did find an audience, so it was a big learning for me,” Bhumi said.

The actor can currently be seen in Sudhir Mishra’s latest release, Afwaah, co-starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

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