On her Bollywood debut, she played an overweight but educated woman who speaks up for her rights. In her second film, she plays a woman who stands up against open defecation.

Actress Bhumi Pednekar says it’s a conscious decision to take up films where she shares equal space with male actors in movies. “Gone are the days where heroines just needed to be a puppet and a mere tool of glamour in films,” said Pednekar. Pednekar, 27, feels it’s high time women take the centrestage in movies, and she is happy that the change has started setting in.

“Now is the time characters need to be made around girls and women because, honestly, they are the ones either suffering or celebrating at the moment because after a long time we are finally seeing some sort of change in the society and in the film industry. I’m just glad that such movies are written,” said the actress, still savouring the success of Toilet: Ek Prem Katha.

Having started her career with Dum Laga Ke Haisha, she is determined to “only do roles where she contributes to the film”. But does she feel that the roles in Hindi filmdom are limited for actresses?

“Things are changing, because since Dum Laga Ke Haisha, all the films that were offered to me, at least most of them, were films where I had enough to do where I was equally important. I am not saying that I need to be the centre of every film.”

She will next be seen in RS Prasanna directorial Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, which deals with erectile dysfunction. What attracts her towards issue-based films? “I think nowadays your message (matters), and concept-driven films are commercial successes. So I would like to say that I am a part of commercial successes. It’s so good to know that all the films that are doing well are high on content and that’s the way it is going to be in the future. I am already a part of future masala films,” she said.

For her content-driven films, interesting characters are more attractive. “All the films I have done till now are love stories, and I think love stories are the most commercial films. I am happy that I can do films that balance out both the worlds really well,” she added. She has also been roped in for the next film by director Abhishek Chaubey of Udta Punjab fame that revolves around Chambal dacoits and is set in the 1970s.