It is a known fact that the creative industry that rarely catches a beat, but despite the relentlessness of this space Bhumi Satish Pednekkar chose to step back. After nearly a decade of constant work, the actor took time off as a necessary reset. What followed was a profound inner shift as she found herself seeking spirituality. “Around that time, it just wasn’t one thing. It was a series of things that happened. And I’m telling you, I am a very big believer. I believe in stars. I believe in the way they align,” she says, tracing the beginning of a phase that ultimately led her towards an awakening of sorts.
Rather than resisting the turbulence, Pednekkar leaned into it. “What gave me a lot of strength was spirituality. I have come so far on the path of spirituality in the last 8–9 months that I feel like I had to go through that experience because I have found a part in me that I had completely shut down and there is nothing more powerful than that.” Her spiritual grounding, she explains, is not new. “I have always been a Shivbhakt,” she says simply, anchoring her journey in a long-standing faith that has now taken on new meaning.
At the heart of this is a disciplined practice of meditation, something she once found unfamiliar but now considers essential. “I meditate. I do guided meditation. I didn’t know how to meditate before. Now I do guided meditation and I crave that experience. Meditation helped me incredibly.” Her practice extends into a more holistic engagement with energy and self-awareness. “I align my chakras, I do my aura cleansing… it’s all just me listening to things. My visualization power is so strong,” she says, describing a routine that blends mindfulness with intention.
This inward turn coincided with a significant professional pause. “I haven’t shot in the last few months. I took this year off. Fifteen, seventeen years have passed since I started working. I was 16 when I started working. I needed this time,” she reflects. For Pednekkar, the break was not just restorative, it marked the beginning of a new chapter. Now, as she looks ahead to returning to the screen, there is a palpable sense of anticipation. “I can’t wait to start a film because now I have such a strong tool of my spirituality, and I want to see the art that I create now.” What emerges from her reflections is a story of how stepping away became the very act that brought her closer to herself, and, perhaps, to a more pure form of storytelling.