Seldom does a day pass without a mention of Vidya Balan. And everyone has only flattering things to say about her, especially female actors! Right now, she is the toast of the town for her special dance number in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Rajesh Mapuskar-directed film “Ferrari Ki Sawaari.” Vidya has donned the traditional Maharashtrian nauvari sari (nine-yard sari) for the folk dance from the State (lavani), dancing to ‘Mala Zau De.' “It is not an item dance and Vidhu had categorically stated he didn't want to make it ‘itemish'. So you can see loud expressions and aggressive body language. The pace is also traditional lavani, not fast like an item number,” says Vidya, basking in the warmth of all the positive comments she is receiving about it.
Pull at the box office
Post the success of “The Dirty Picture” and “Kahaani,” Vidya has been in the limelight and, according to trade analysts, giving the male actors too some sleepless nights with her pull at the box office. “Is that so? I have stopped reading papers and watching the news to retain my sanity. All I do is read or watch movies whenever there is time and honestly, I get very little me-time now. But if my female colleagues are praising me, I think it is flattering,” she says, adding, “When ‘Paa' and ‘Ishqiya' happened, many saw it as an aberration. But with ‘The Dirty Picture' and ‘Kahaani' having worked commercially too with the box office, the perception has definitely changed.”
Vidya's word is even working for brands, more than ever before. She is currently the brand ambassador for Horlicks' Aahar Abhiyaan that aims at increasing awareness about malnutrition. The initiative will be implemented in a phased manner beginning with a pilot project, in partnership with the Child In Need Institute (CINI), in West Bengal. Ask her about being selective in her endorsements, and she says, “I am not someone who jumps brands so that gives a lot of credibility to what I say. With the Aahar Abhiyaan, I realised I would give my backing to the serious issue of malnutrition.”
Out of her comfort zone
Vidya says her choice of films and their success came after she decided to make a shift. “The shift really happened within me. I told myself that I was here to become an actor and for that I needed to do roles as unique as possible. If that meant getting out of my comfort zone, so be it. I decided to do so however hard it would be. Some of the films I did were definitely not easy decisions. I am grateful about the kind of work I have been offered and the acceptability my work has received both commercially and critically.”
Commercial success is as important as, if not more than, critical appreciation, she opines. “After all, with the kind of stakes involved, one can't make self-indulgent cinema.” The actor has now been signed on opposite Emraan Hashmi in Rajkumar Gupta's comedy “Ghanchakkar.” She has worked with the director earlier in “No One Killed Jessica.” She plays a housewife in the film. Ask her if that's a boring role to do after something as spicy as Silk and as strong as Vidya Bagchi in “Kahaani,” and she laughs, “All I can say is never judge a book by its cover. There's a lot that can happen within the four walls of a house!”
