In the world of measured quotes and figures, Vidya Balan continues to be refreshingly different. She offers to be interviewed even as the make-up man struggles to touch-up her lips. She is eager to talk about failure. After a four consecutive flops, she is returning to turnstiles with Kahaani 2 this week. “I didn’t take a back seat,” she clarifies even as one tries to form a cogent question. “My choices have always been responses to my state of mind and probably, therefore, I did the films that I did. Unfortunately, they didn’t work. It is extremely disheartening and disappointing when a film doesn’t work. I put so much of myself into the film. Gussa aata hai. I feel like shouting and crying. I like to blame people, I like to blame myself. I analyse, what I could have done differently. But, eventually, one has to go through those questions and finally let go of that failure and move on. Because you would never be able to figure out why a film didn’t work.”
Really? “Of course, there is no calculation why a Salman Khan film works. He has an appealing body and a charming smile but these are only contributory factors. There is an invisible X factor which we can’t explain.” Not too long ago, Vidya was also compared with Khans and like Salman and Shah Rukh often play themselves, filmmakers started relying on Vidya’s presence and stories and characters started becoming incidental. “I think this approach works for Khans. What has worked for me is whenever I have played a strong character, the film has worked but when people are unable to understand that and they try to cash on Vidya Balan, it didn’t work. Because my forte is playing different characters.”
Still, she feels there are no clear answers for when she tried to play Vasudha, a meek, tender woman in Humari Adhuri Kahaani, it didn’t work with audience and critics, who ostensibly didn’t want to see her playing characters who pray for the life of their husband/ lover.
“It was heart breaking for sure. I had questions about Vasudha before I took up the film but then I realised that I cannot restrict myself to playing only empowered women. If I play a weak character and she gathers courage by the end of the film that is satisfying for me. By the end of it she opts to let go of her selfish husband, it is okay with me. She chose to move away and live on her own but she was not a rebellious woman and such women exist around us.”
Apart from shooting in Kolkata and Kalimpong, what has hooked Vidya to take the Kahaani franchise forward is the complexity of the two character: Vidya Bagchi and Durga Rani Singh. “The fact that there are two faces to me in the film made it very interesting to me. This woman is accused of kidnapping. Is she a mother or murderer or is she both. This is what defines the story.”
This is her third film in the thriller/ spy space. Does it say something about the stories she likes to read. “I always enjoyed Ken Follett and John Grisham. I can’t digest serious fiction. I also like Danielle Steel. It is the same old romance and betrayal but I like her style.”
One of the problems of playing the hero in the film is that your expressions are minutely noticed. And perhaps heroines are not getting the leeway to repeat themselves as heroes got all these years.
“There is only one of me and how different I can look. You now know how Vidya Balan smiles and I can’t change my smile. I can’t say that in this film I would smile like Madhubala.”
But she has challenged vanity. In The Dirty Picture it was called an experiment but by the time of Ghanchakkar, many felt that Vidya was going overboard. “If it had worked, it would not been called a failed experiment. It is all about what succeeds but as an actor I am happy that I challenged vanity. Coming back to the smile, what makes smile different is the context in which you see it and here an actor and writer can work together. The same smile in Paa meant something else, here it means something else. One has to contextualise emotions.”
She continues to veer towards strong characters. Up next is Begum Jan and a biopic on Kamala Das. “ Image has never mattered to me. These are interesting stories and are about making a point on women empowerment. These are interesting women who overcame odds and that’s what a hero does. Kamala Das led her life on her own terms and spoke fearlessly about female desires, fears and insecurities.”
It brings us to the debate on feminism. “I believe I am the most important person in my life. You call it feminism or sense of self worth, it is up to you.” Some years back such women were called selfish by the patriarchal society. “Exactly, it is high time women focus on themselves. For long our focus has been someone else. First the family we are born into and then families we go after marriage and invariably our choices are controlled by our father, brother, husband and son. You derive your identity from them.” In the same vein she adds, “I am not a man hater but at the same time I am not going to take second position to anyone – man or woman.”
The box office success of Vidya Balan spurred many young female actors to say shape doesn’t matter in the glamour industry. Most of them are now working extra hard to get into those age old standards. “If they are happy being in certain body frame, good luck to them. I feel person of any size can be desirable and when we say cinema reflects life, life throws characters of myriad shapes at us.” Vidya says she has outgrown such pressures. I also tried to change and found that some will always have a problem. What I can ensure is one person doesn’t have a problem and that is me.”
Does she look for the agenda of the storyteller as well? Like she has recently signed a film where she is playing a popular RJ. Isn’t her body type, defining the roles she is being offered? “No, I am not complaining. Jab tak kahaani achchi hai, sab achcha hai (As long as the story is good, everything is fine,” Vidya signs off.
Social issues can wait as for now as economics is affecting common lives. People are not able to follow creative pursuits because they to stand in queue to get their money exchanged to deposited and it is showing in box office performance. “I don’t understand economics. People who understand it they are saying that it would help in the long run but people have been inconvenienced for sure. Films have got affected and more than people in emergencies have suffered. Luckily, it has gotten better. I have heard Dear Zindagi is doing fine. I think the situation is stabilising.”
