Vidya Balan has established herself as a very powerful actress thanks her roles in movies like ‘Paa’, ‘Ishqiya’, ‘No One Killed Jessica’ and the more recent ‘The Dirty Picture’.
Due to her portrayal of powerful characters on screen Vidya Balan has earned the title of the ‘new hero’.
“It's a wonderful compliment but I must say that I enjoy being a heroine. It is the time to celebrate woman power. I am happy being me; I am happy being Vidya Balan,” said Vidya Balan during an interview with a daily.
The actress, who made her debut with a very strong and critically appreciated performance in movie ‘Parineeta’, is back on top after going through a low phase in her career.
“When I came into the industry, I was appreciated, applauded and praised. Then there was a low phase -- and it was really very low -- but that's how life is. As long as there is a high after a low, you are fine. I am happy for the appreciation that I am getting,” she said.
“The proportion of success in that sense is humungous. Even after Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, people said, now what? Are you narrowing down your options? I don't think about these things. God has brought me till here and he will take me further. I am here to act. I am not saying that I will do only such roles or solo heroine projects. I want to do different genres of film with different actors and directors,” she added.
The actress will next be seen in the movie ‘Kahani’ directed by Sujoy Ghosh. This is the first time that the actresses is working with critically acclaimed director.
“Sujoy had the unit in high spirits. He is almost like a child -- keeps cracking jokes. And his sense of humor is bizarre. He is so full of energy and is constantly doing something or the other, even if it means sometimes jumping around like a frog. He has a unique way of directing: he distracts you before the shot so that you are very spontaneous in the shot. For this kind of film, particularly, I think it works because it is a mystery,” she said.
Interestingly, Sujoy Ghosh had approached Vidya Balan before with a script but she rejected it.
“I remember Sujoy came to me with some other script which I didn't particularly like, so I told him to come back with another script. He said he would, and he did,” she said.
So what made her say yes to ‘Kahani’?
“When he came to me with 'Kahaani', I loved it. It is an unimaginable story -- how do you reconcile to the fact that someone who is so close to you has gone missing? You don't know the whereabouts and suddenly people around you are saying there is no such person. Then you begin to question a whole lot of things, but you know that this person is there because you are carrying the biggest proof of his existence -- his baby,” she said.
In ‘Kahani’ Vidya Balan portrays a role of a pregnant women in search of her husband. It comes as no surprise that even this movie is women centric.
“I have been fortunate. I like to play parts that give me the opportunity to explore that inner strength of a woman, which is very unique to a woman. With her vulnerability, with her sensitivities, with her weakness comes this immense inner strength especially when she is about to become a mother, as in this case. I think that directors have faith that I can pull off those kinds of characters. I have been fortunate that at the very beginning of my career, I have been offered parts like that. I naturally veer towards them. Every film is very important. ‘The Dirty Picture’ did better than I could have hoped for, and I hope ‘Kahaani’ does even better,” she concluded.
The movie releases on March 9th.