‘Instinctive,
authentic and loving’ is how actress Vidya Balan defines herself and
we can’t agree more as her strong portrayal of female characters in films like
‘Parineeta’, ‘The Dirty Picture’, ‘Kahaani’ and ‘Begum Jaan’ are a proof
of how this powerhouse of talent can garner box office numbers with or without
a male lead.
The actor is ready with her next offering ‘Shakuntala Devi’ that has been
released digitally on OTT platform Amazon Prime Video on July 31. She calls this film
her child that she hopes will get as much love and acceptance as her previous
movies.
“Every film is important and like a child for me. Yes, I want my child to be
loved and accepted by everyone. We all work very hard and there is a lot of
hard work that goes into making every film and in this one we worked even
harder. I think Anu Menon is a kind of director who is very demanding and she
really pushes you to deliver your best even whilst being very sensitive towards
the entire unit. We all feel like we have given it our best, therefore we want
to see how people are going to receive it,” Vidya told Opoyi in an
interview.
The film is a biopic on the life of maths whiz Shakuntala Devi, known as
the ‘human computer’ for her ability to play with numbers. Vidya plays
the title role in the film that also stars Jisshu Sengupta, Sanya Malhotra and
Amit Sadh.
“I think I have done my best and now you know the ultimate icing on the cake
really is the audience’s appreciation . I don’t make films for myself so
obviously you want people to love your work, to appreciate your work…to me I
am happy with what I have done and most importantly my director is happy with
what I have done now we are waiting for the ultimate approval,” said the
41-year-old who made her acting debut in 1995 with the sitcom ‘Hum Paanch’. Her
first Hindi film was Pradeep Sarkar’s ‘Parineeta’ that was released in 2005.
The actor was
last seen in the 2019 film ‘Mission Mangal’ that was declared a hit. The film
was broadly based on the lives of scientists at the Indian Space Research
Organisation who worked on the Mars Orbiter Mission, India’s first
interplanetary expedition.
So, from the love affair with science in that film to a master of math in her
latest project, what makes Vidya pick subjects that are
difficult to navigate in real life? To which she replied saying that she gets
“bored very easily…. so I need to do different things and I like taking up
challenges and I think it’s a great time to be an actor in Hindi cinema where
there are such a wide variety of roles that are being written for women.
“I think there are so many heroes all around us. I find that every second
girl I meet, if not every girl, is inspiring in the way that she is navigating
and negotiating her own space .I think there are so many stories to tell,” she
said.
Before her big break in Bollywood, Vidya made several attempts at a
career in Malayalam and Tamil films with some of the films got indefinitely
postponed while in some, she was replaced by other actresses.
Recalling the time when things were not going as planned, Vidya said,
“When things don’t go as per plan, I always feel that there is bigger and
better purpose in store . So I just surrender. I feel when one door closes,
another massive door open. I always have that attitude. Of course, you feel low,
you cry, get angry, I used to fight with my mother a lot. I used to go to Sai
Baba mandir, sit there and I used to talk to Sai Baba vey angrily and say that
why you dangled the character in front of me if you were not going to give it
to me, but then through all that I still had faith that things would work out.”
With 15 years in the industry now and several path breaking roles to her
credit, the actress says that she “has given to the film industry and the film
industry has given me (a lot)”
“This is the place that helped me realize my dream of being an actor and I am
living that dream every single day, for which I will forever be grateful. I
feel the need to say this today that it is actually a wonderful place. My heart
breaks when I see so much negativity at this point, but I am sure it will all
settle and we will be able to celebrate the beauty of the film industry very
soon,” she said.
Despite being targeted for her costume choices and frequently being criticized
for her body weight, Vidya has made her mark in Bollywood . However,
what sets her apart is how she maintained her calm and poise through all those
tough times.
To those frequently body-shamed both online and offline, the actress says, “I
don’t think they need to talk about it online, as long as they are talking
about it to someone because you know we all want to be heard. If you do feel
like sharing it on social media, great but otherwise I just feel that our
bodies are what keep us alive and we should never be ashamed of our bodies
because it’s so wrong to be ashamed or angry with the very thing that is
keeping you alive because the day our body gives up, we are over.”
“We should be actually saying thank you to our bodies day in and day out,
however they are – big, small , thin , fat , tall , short, whatever colour, we
have to celebrate our bodies and only then will we be in our better health and
will we be able to own our lives.”
Coming back to Shakuntala Devi, Vidya says that she couldn’t hope for
better circumstances
“My film is releasing in 200 countries from the same day from July 31 on Amazon
Prime Video . It’s just opening up the world for us so I am very happy,” she
said.
This is not the first biopic she is doing as she is still remembered for her
bold avatar in ‘The Dirty Picture’ a film made on the life of southern actor
Silk Smita.
So if suppose a film has to be made on Vidya, who would, she like to see
playing her on big screen? “You know today with technology you can ‘de-age’ and
age a person so I would like to play myself wherever it’s made,” said the
actress whose next film is ‘Sherni.’
And this is
how Vidya Balan replied to our rapid fire questions:
What is the formula of calculating box office numbers?
You have to ask the trade pundits.. I don’t know
Apart from you, who you think could have played Shakuntala?
Shakuntala devi herself..
A film role you would have liked to play
I would love to play Indira Gandhi someday. I think she is a powerful woman.
Define Vidya Balan in three words
Instinctive, authentic and loving.
