At Milken Asia Summit, Bhumi Satish Pednekkar Redefines the Role of Art in Advancing Social Justice
Celebrated Indian actor and climate advocate Bhumi Satish Pednekkar beautifully brought cinema and activism onto the same stage at the Milken Institute Asia Summit 2025, showing that a story well told can cross borders and move people to act.
Recalling her breakthrough role in the 2015 hit Dum Laga Ke Haisha, Pednekar said that first experience shaped not only shaped her career but also the causes she chose to speak up for.
At the Summit, she said, “My first film was about a girl who didn’t fit society’s idea of beauty. She was heavier, though, I don’t like that word, but I use it so everyone understands. She didn’t fit the narrow frame that beauty is often forced into. The story follows her and a man who keeps putting her down for not matching his idea of beauty. By the end, she breaks free from those shackles and wins in her own way.”
The unexpected box-office success of the film, she added, opened her eyes to what cinema could do. “That’s when I realised how powerful cinema can be. In India, there’s still a lot of stigma and taboo around topics people rarely talk about. Cinema makes it easier to start those conversations. And when empathy turns into something actionable, that’s advocacy. That first film showed me the path I wanted to take and it gave me the courage to say no to projects that didn’t fit that vision.”
Her reflections in the speech fit naturally with the summit’s theme, “Innovating for a Shared Future”, and showed how artists can use their soft power to encourage empathy-driven responses to some of the world’s toughest challenges.
By discussing her own journey — from portraying a character who defied stereotypes to speaking out for climate action and social equity — Pednekar showed how stories on screen can spark real-world conversations and even shift attitudes across cultures and borders.
