IFFI: Bhumi Pednekkar talks about her toughest role in Daldal, says "I had to communicate through the smallest physical cues..."

After the teaser played to a captivated audience, the room shifted seamlessly into a thought-provoking fireside chat titled “Beyond the Stereotype: Redefining Women and Power in Modern Storytelling.”

The panel included Bhumi, Nikhil Madhok (Director & Head of Originals, Prime Video India), and the show’s creative team — all of whom offered a rare insight into their collaborative process and the emotional weight of the series.

Nikhil Madhok spoke passionately about Prime Video’s mission to challenge outdated portrayals of women, "At Prime Video, our approach to female-driven storytelling is completely intentional. For decades, more than 90% of mainstream cinema has centered on the male hero and the male gaze, while even television (despite focusing on women) kept their narratives confined to domestic spaces. Streaming gave us the opportunity to break that pattern and create women who have agency, depth, flaws, and arcs that reflect real life. You can see this across our slate: Daldal, Dahaad, Call Me Bae, Made in Heaven, Four More Shots Please, Suzhal, and so many others across languages, where women aren't symbolic; they're fully realized, complex characters." He added, "It's not just about telling women's stories; it's about ensuring women are part of the decision-making at every stage, from conception and writing to production and execution. This is a conscious, sustained effort, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Audiences haven't turned away from female-led narratives; they've embraced them."

Bhumi’s own reflections brought the room to a hush. Discussing Rita Ferreira, she said, "From the women in my home, I learned that power doesn't need to be loud. It can be quiet, resilient, and rooted in constantly questioning the world around you. That's something I saw my mother do every day, and something Rita does too. She doesn't say much, but she does a lot. If actions speak louder than words, I don't think there's a character who embodies that more than Rita Ferreira. For the first time, I didn't have dialogues or even expressive eyes to rely on. I had to communicate through the smallest physical cues: how her neck tightens with guilt or how her body responds to anger. It was one of the toughest roles I've ever prepared for, and it took months to come out of it. But it was also deeply satisfying because I was pushed, really pushed, by a team that believed in complexity, in darkness, in writing anti-hero traits for women. Very few characters like this get written for us."

Producer Vikram Malhotra added context about Abundantia’s long-standing commitment to portraying women as layered human beings, "At Abundantia, it’s always about the story, followed by the gaze of the storyteller. I've always believed that the moment you start boxing narratives as female-led or male-led, you've already defeated the purpose. Stories must connect universally, cutting across genders, for them to truly find their audience. While creating powerful female characters, it’s all about balance. No one is entirely good or entirely bad. My issue with the historical portrayal of women in our cinema is that it always chooses a side. That's the thing we do differently at Abundantia: we embrace human portrayals, complexities, nuance, and emotional truth"

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Director Amrit Raj Gupta spoke about working on the crime thriller, adding, "When I first read the script, I didn't fully understand why Rita is the way she is: her traumas, her past, and how all of that forms her present. Once I understood that, the process became clearer. And of course, when you have an actor like Bhumi who is so collaborative, intuitive, and generous, it becomes a joy. With the support of the producer and creator, things gradually fell into place. One thing we constantly reminded ourselves was this: because these characters are so complex, less is more. We didn't want to overplay anything. We wanted to see them simply as humans: vulnerable, flawed, layered. We didn't want to take sides. We wanted to observe and let the audience decide their own point of view."

Daldal will premiere soon exclusively on Prime Video in India and across 240+ countries and territories worldwide.