EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:- "We Have Tried To Maintain As Much Authenticity As We Could In Operation Romeo" - Bhumika Chawla

Upcoming Bollywood thriller, Operation Romeo, will see Sharad Kelkar and Bhumika Chawla as on-screen husband and wife. Produced by Neeraj Pandey and Shital Bhatia’s Friday Filmworks, and Reliance Entertainment production, the film will hit the big screens on 22nd April 2022. We had a chance to interact with the actress Bhumika Chawla to spill some beans on the product.

Revealing why she stayed less active in the Bollywood industry, Bhumika shared, "I always wanted to do the kind of work that satisfies me. The films that I can relate to, I just don't want to come and go. For me, it's very important that the content I associate with should be very good. That's probably the reason why it took me so many years to do only selected Hindi films. I received some offers, but I didn't connect with the films."

Operation Romeo is a remake of Malayalam romantic thriller Ishq (2019), and the actress talked about the adaptation. She said, "I did see the original Malayalam flick. We have tried to maintain as much authenticity as we could, and most of the work was done by the director, Shashant Shah. He has done a fabulous job. He has made the film as real and yet relatable as he could."

Speaking of her role, Chawla added, "I play the role of a Maharashtrian woman, a middle-class housewife. She is very very fond of her husband, you know, that Pati Parameshwar type wife. Suddenly, something happens which changes everything, including her own life. I have some dialogues in Marathi. I don't know how well I have spoken Marathi dialogues. I tried my best, my director, Shashant, helped me, and Sharad also helped."

When asked how she came on board for the film, Bhumika replied, "I got a call from Neeraj Sir's office. They told me that they were making a film like this and then we had meetings with the director. Having worked with Neeraj Sir, you can't say No to him. He is such an amazing person to work with, so systematic."

Continuing on why she chose the role, the actress stated, "I haven't played a Maharashtrian character before. I have done films in the South, in Hindi so every time I think that I should not repeat myself. Every time I want to do something different. Because I will get bored. I can't do it. I want something which I have not done, from which I can learn something."

Answering the question of whether she would love to do a commercial film or a content-driven cinema, she said, "I prefer doing content oriented films. But if there is a commercial from which gives me a chance to perform and also give the structure, then why not. It's a combination that you get very rarely."

Bhumika entered Bollywood with Tere Naam (2003) opposite Salman Khan. Recalling the film and its importance, Bhumika expressed, "Definitely. I can't live with that one character. But I am happy that 'Tere Naam' gave me that kind of recognition and stature. I would like to break that image one day and come up with something different and bigger. For any actor, that's important. I am happy that I worked in the Hindi cinema industry even though I have done very selective work. I'd like to do more Hindi films and web series that the audience connects with."