11 February,2026 01:06 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Bhumi Pednekkar
Actor Bhumi Pednekkar strongly believes in having an opinion on the politics of one's country, especially when one occupies a public platform. In a conversation with mid-day's Sit With Hitlist, the actor opened up about her evolving political awareness, the responsibility that comes with being a public figure, and why issues like violence against women deserve far greater urgency than verdicts on stray dogs.
When asked whether she is political, the actress said, "I think I went through a phase where I was very apolitical. But then I realised that we are a beautiful democracy, and you need to have an opinion. You need to have a stand."
She added that the responsibility is even greater when one is in the public eye. "After many years, I have tried to form some sort of an understanding of where I stand in the spectrum," she said.
Bhumi feels she has consistently used her platform through both films and social media to put across her viewpoints. "I think my films create enough noise. I've always used my platform to do so. I truly want to leave behind a set of movies that can be watched time and again," she shared.
She added, "I do use my social media platforms to express my opinion, especially about things that are very close to me around the environment, animals, and dogs. I'm very actively part of the conversation around the judgement about picking up stray dogs."
Sharing her thoughts on the recent court verdict on removing stray dogs from the streets of Delhi, Pednekar stressed, "I have adopted quite a few, and I just don't understand this. How is this the only solution? Especially in our country, when there are so many other issues that we are dealing with. How about picking up rapists from the road? Why don't we start there? That is a very big problem in our country."
She further highlighted the alarming state of the country and the rising cases of violence against women. "In recent times, if you open the newspaper, you'll always see an act of sexual violence against a woman. From a two-month-old child to an 80-year-old woman, nobody is safe. I feel like we have a lot of core issues that we need to deal with first before passing such impactful judgements on stray dogs," she concluded.
