Stepping into the industry with Salman Khan is what a dream debut could be for one. Only some of the lucky ones manage to live this dream and make a name for themselves. Let’s talk about one actor who worked with the likes of Abhishek Bachchan lost out on Imtiaz Ali’s Jab We Met and Sanjay Dutt’s Munna Bhai MBBS.
We’re talking about none other than Bhumika Chawla. Born on August 21, 1978, the actress was born and brought up in New Delhi. She also did her schooling from there. She moved to Mumbai in 1997 and started her career with Ad films and Hindi music video albums. Before making it big on the 70 mm screen, she appeared in the Zee TV series Hip Hip Hurray and Star Best Sellers – Fursat Mein.
After making her successful debut in the Telugu and Tamil film industry, Chawla bagged her first Bollywood film, Tere Naam (2003), alongside Salman Khan. Directed by Satish Kaushik, the romantic-drama film continues to enjoy a cult status for itself with its evergreen musical album.
In an interview with Siddharth Kannan last year, Bhumika recalled getting a lot of big offers after her first film. However, she remained selective and choosy with the projects she did. The actress revealed that she signed a big film but later the hero, production house, the movie title, and of course the actress was changed.
She noted had she done that film, the situation would’ve been different for her. The 46-year-old actress mentioned that she waited for that film for one year and didn’t sign any other project. She later signed another film which couldn’t materialize, while half of her films were a success and half couldn’t work out of the films she worked in.
“Ek hi baar mujhe bura laga tha, jab maine Jab We Met sign ki aur nahi hui (That’s the only time I’ve felt bad about losing a film). I was the first one, Bobby (Deol) and me, when it was called Train. Then, it was Shahid (Kapoor) and me, and then Shahid and Ayesha (Takia), and then Shahid and Kareena (Kapoor). That’s how things happened, but it’s okay. I only felt bad once and then never again because I just move on. I don’t think much about it. I had signed Munna Bhai MBBS, but it didn’t happen. Kannathil Muthamittal with Mani (Ratnam) sir didn’t happen,” she said.
Bhumika’s debut film in Bollywood was a breakthrough for her which was followed by her works in movies like Run (2004), Dil Ne Jise Apna Kahaa (2004), Silsilay (2005), and Dil Jo Bhi Kahey… (2005), Family – Ties of Blood (2006).
After this, Bhumika distanced herself from the Hindi film industry. Nearly a decade later, she was seen in the 2016 movie M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story. She portrayed the character of the cricketer’s sister in the movie. The actress being choosy about the projects was then seen in 2019’s Khamoshi followed by 2022’s Operation Romeo.
The actress reunited with Salman after two decades in 2023 with Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan.
In her personal life, Bhumika has been happily married to Bharat Thakur, her yoga instructor. After dating for nearly four years, the couple got married on October 21, 2007, at Devlali, Nashik in a Gurdwara. They welcomed their first child, a son, in February 2014 whom they named Yash.
