Bhumika Chawla Speaks Out On Ageism In Bollywood

Bhumika Chawla became a household name in Bollywood with the 2003 blockbuster hit Tere Naam. However, after the film, her Hindi projects did not become as popular as her first ones. She continued to work in the south film industries in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam languages. Recently, the actor shared that there is still ageism toward female actors and that they stop getting good roles once they get older.

In Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Bhumika reunites with her Tere Naam co-star Salman Khan. She essays the role of Pooja Hegde's sister-in-law in the family entertainer. Directed by Farhad Samji, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan was released on April 21 on the occasion of Eid. The Hindi film, loosely adapted from the Tamil film Veeram (2014), earned ₹10.17 crore nett on its first Monday, taking its overall collections to ₹78.34 crore nett. Speaking to Siddharth Kannan, Bhumika revealed, "Unfortunately, there is a shelf life for actresses. I don't know why because I feel makers aren't able to view them that way. Now that Netflix is here, Amazon [web] series are coming, content-driven films and web series have good work for senior actresses, [in] central roles. But in a commercial mass film has the same system even today. Hero is still playing hero and the female lead has gone backward." She added, "The change will have to come from the industry. The audience can't do that. If we change something, then the audience will accept it. If we don't change it then how will they accept it?" Bhumika was last seen in the Tamil thriller Kannai Nambathey in which she had a double role. In 2022, she appeared in the Hindi film Operation Romeo starring Sidhant Gupta and Vedika Pinto. The actor was also part of the Telugu films Sita Ramam and Butterfly in supporting roles.