Born on July 18, 1989, Bhumi Pednekar, best remembered for her role in YRF's critically acclaimed Dum Laga Ke Haisha, grew up in Mumbai. She did her schooling at Arya Vidya Mandir, Juhu, Mumbai and at age 18 took up a job at Yash Raj Studios. Bhumi worked in the casting team of YRF for over six years. Before trying her hand at acting, Bhumi was assistant to Shanoo Sharma, the casting director of Yash Raj Films (YRF)

Very few know that Bhumi Pednekar has a sister, Samiksha Pednekar, who is a lawyer by profession. Bhumi wants to see her sister in films, however, Samiksha has never shown any signs of plans in acting

Getting into Bollywood was a planned move, as Bhumi Pednekar always wanted to be an actor. While working on the casting team, she was persistent in her belief that "eventually it would happen"

It all started with a mock audition. Little did Bhumi know that it was going to be her ticket to Bollywood. "They had told me to give an audition for Sandhya's role (Dum Laga Ke Haisha) that would be sent as a reference to actors who don't live in Bombay. Shanoo gave me four scenes to do and I did all of them back to back together and the audition happened"

Sharing more about this experience, she said, "Shanoo is a very dramatic person. So Shanoo and I had a fight and she was like, 'you are fired!'. I was like, 'What?', she was like 'yeah, you're fired'. I said, 'Over such a silly thing?' and then she said, 'From today, I don't want to see your face because you're being considered for Dum Laga Ke Haisha'

In 2015, Bhumi Pednekar made her Bollywood debut alongside Ayushmann Khurrana with 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'

Bhumi Pednekar bagged the Best Actress award for her debut in almost all award events including Filmfare Awards, Producers Guild Film Awards, Screen Awards, Zee Cine Awards, Stardust Awards, BIG Star Entertainment Awards and IIFA

After two years, Bhumi Pednekar appeared in two back-to-back films - 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' and 'Shubh Mangal Saavdhan'

Interestingly, Bhumi Pednekar underwent a drastic makeover, in the course of time. The actress, who played an overweight girl in her debut, became the talk of the town for her toned physique

For her second film alongside Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar trimmed down. "My aim was never to become skinny. I started eating homemade foods and began losing weight. Definitely, if a certain part requires me to be extremely fit I will do it. It is not a thing for me. If I have to gain weight again I will do that as well," she said

In fact, you would be surprised to know that for Bhumi Pednekar, putting on oodles of weight for 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha' was not a problem. She has been a plump girl almost all her life she has always been comfortable in her skin. However, losing weight was a worrisome task for Bhumi

Bhumi Pednekar had been an overweight girl all her life. Talking about the same, she had told mid-day in an interview, "I have been very comfortable with it. I wore what I wanted, did what I wanted. It was never a hindrance for me. So, when they told me I had to gain more weight, I was actually really happy because I am a foodie. No actress gets the chance to eat butter chicken, dal makhani on sets every day. Eating was part of the preparation. It was the best months of my life"

However, the actress upped her game soon and frequently started sharing glamourous images from her photo shoots on Instagram, flaunting her toned physique

Bhumi Pednekar has always played the simple, de-glam woman on screen in her films, which include Dum Laga Ke Haisha (2015), Toilet: Ek Prem Katha (2017), Shubh Mangal Savdhaan (2017), Lust Stories (2018), Sonchiriya (2019), Saand Ki Aankh (2019), and Bala (2019)

In fact, her web show, Lust Stories saw her play a domestic help. Her smouldering hot pictures on social media definitely looked like it was her way to tell filmmakers that she can play the hottie too!

Nevertheless, Bhumi Pednekar was again seen in a de-glam role, alongside Sushant Singh Rajput in the dacoit drama 'Sonchiriya'

Whether glamourous or non-glamorous, Bhumi Pednekar continued entertaining her fans and earned applauds for her role in Saand Ki Aankh and Bala. "For me, how I represent women on screen is very important. Cinema has the power to influence people and I do feel that through our portrayal of women, we can push the messaging of equality, of independence. I have looked out for such characters and play them with all my heart of screen. I have been fortunate to have got these characters that have made a mark and stood out," says Bhumi.

In Bala, which was released on November 7, 2019, Bhumi played a dark-skinned small-town girl who struggles with society's wrath over her complexion. "My character is a dark-skinned but extremely beautiful girl. She is very confident, she is everything, and she is perfect. But people around make her feel like she is just not complete because of the lack of awareness that our country has," said the 33-year-old actor in a chat with ANI

Bhumi Pednekar was next seen in 'Bhoot - Part One: The Haunted Ship'. However, Bhumi had very little to do in the film, as her character dies too soon! The talented actress will be soon seen as a leading lady in the Akshay Kumar presentation Durgavati and award-winning director Alankrita Srivastava’s 'Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare'

Here's wishing good luck to the actress and a happy birthday!