Bhumi Pednekar felt ‘numb, lost’ after The Royals criticism, reveals taking break from acting: ‘I was like can I act?’

Actor Bhumi Pednekar received heavy criticism for her performance in The Royals, which was released in May 2025. Since then, the actor has not been seen much on screen. In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, Bhumi revealed that the harsh criticism of her performance left her numb and prompted her to take a nine-month break from acting.Bhumi Pednekar says The Royals criticism made her numb

She said, “One of them was taking a break. I didn’t announce it because I didn’t want to dramatise it. I had become emotionally depleted. I’d completely lost perspective of who I am as an actor, as a person — who is Bhumi? So I had to step back, and in that noise, I had to find people who were my well-wishers and who truly had something constructive to say. I took a break. I haven’t been on a set since June .”Bhumi revealed that she took the break voluntarily and called it the best decision she could have made for herself. During this time, she watched films, read books, took a course at Harvard and travelled to build her bank of life experiences.