When actors don different guises as part of a character they portray, they run the risk of being identified and appearing gimmicky. Vidya Balan had her doubts despite having gone through several look tests. “I appear in 12 guises in Bobby Jasoos , from a beggar seeking alms near Nampally Sarai to an astrologer with stained teeth to a chudi -seller at Laad Bazaar. It would take me around three hours to get my hair and make-up done. We shot in real locations in Hyderabad and on several occasions, onlookers would approach a unit person and enquire about the star cast and the film. When they heard my name, they would look around and wonder if I was there. All that time, I would have been standing close to them in disguise. People never identified me and I was reassured that we got the looks right,” says the actress, in a brief conversation during her day-long visit to Hyderabad to kickstart the promotions of her new film, directed by debutant Samar Shaikh.
With both critical and commercial success to her credit after The Dirty Picture and Kahaani , she hoped she would get another script that would give her something “new and exciting.” “I liked the idea of playing a female detective but more importantly, liked how Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh had written the script. If Kolkata was a character in Kahaani , Hyderabad is integral to Bobby Jasoos ,” she says.
Playing Bilkis Bano, a young woman from the Old City who aspires to be the best detective in the city, required some groundwork. “We had a dialogue coach, Abbas Malik, helping us learn the Hyderabadi dialect. He would explain to us the subtle difference between Mumbaiya and Hyderabadi Hindi. Ali Fazal and I also had a workshop prior to the shooting schedule, which helped us understand our characters better. I went through look tests before finalising 12 guises. Dia Mirza (one of the producers of the film) and I, with the help of costume designer Theia and Sheetal Sharma and makeup artiste Vidyadhar, considered several looks. Even after finalising the 12 looks, I used to request for new looks and Dia had to restrain me,” smiles Vidya.
The guises aside, Vidya doesn’t reveal much about the film. “It’s not your regular detective film but a complete family entertainer,” she maintains. She talks excitedly about munching carrots in her childhood hoping she would be a sharp detective like Karamchand before returning to her shooting experience in Hyderabad. “We shot for 45 days in Moghulpura. I got to observe the houses and people in the small gullies of the area. Talking about Bobby Jasoos in this city gives me a feeling of coming home. Hyderabad is a warm city with large-hearted people, to say the least,” she says.
Paired opposite a relative newcomer and younger actor like Ali Fazal wasn’t a problem, she says.
Ali chips in, “I was nervous to act with her. The pre-shoot workshop helped break the ice and I realised she is fun to work with and not overbearing.”
