It was a double celebration after United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced actor Bhumi Pednekar as its first National Advocate for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) while unveiling its second edition of the Inspiring India magazine. The magazine traces the journey of some exceptional Indian women from varied walks of life.
The soiree commenced with a soulful rendition by percussionist Charu Hariharan, followed by a trailer of the magazine. The turnout of diplomats and dignitaries also witnessed a QnA having Shoko Noda, Resident Representative, UNDP India ask Pednekar a slew of questions on her journey, inspirations and more.
Speaking to us, Pednekar expressed her happiness as she added one more feather to her cap. She said, “I am thrilled and it’s such an honour that they (UNDP) thought that I was worthy of taking on this responsibility. For very long, I tried my bit and give back to the society through my work, but now, when I collaborate with an institution like UNDP, it would help my voice to reach out to more people and to the people, that need it the most. It’s just a very fulfilling feeling for me.”
Those in attendance included Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator for India, Manasi Joshi, Indian para-badminton player,Ralf Heckner, Swiss ambassador to India and Freddy Svane, Danish ambassador to India.
Pednekar, who is best known for doing films on social taboos and stigmas, shared that she is extremely passionate about working towards climate action and gender parity. “As people of influence, the idea being that we have to achieve all the goals for this world to become a fair and equal place for everyone. In whatever way, either through my onscreen work or offscreen contribution, the idea is to spread the right message to inspire as many people as possible to take the right path,” she said.
“I hope that all the work that I do goes toward making the world more equal in many ways,” she added.
From Dum Lagake Haisa (2015), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017)to Shubh Mangal Saavdhan (2017) and Badhaai Do (2022), the 33-year-old actor, who has highlighted the social causes and women issues through her films feels that there are so many layers at which women deal with gender biases. “It can be something as simple as you are expecting your mother to cook the meal after she comes back from a long day of work or it can be somebody who is very educated, knowledgeable or very privileged, we still are so conditioned and so used to everyday sexism that at times even I don’t realise that am I casually treating somebody in a certain way. So, my idea is to play as many strong characters as I can and to inspire as many women as possible through my work,” she said.
