Vidya Balan didn't meet Sabrina, Jessica Lall's sister, until after shooting for No One Killed Jessica . “Rajkumar Gupta (the director) didn't want me to meet her. Sabrina is an icon today. He said that the Sabrina we see today is different from the Sabrina a decade ago, when she had just lost her sister. This story begins at the time when Jessica is murdered,” says Vidya Balan.
Vidya was in town on a whirlwind promotion tour for the film that will release on January 7. The last few months have been a blur with back-to-back commitments, so much that she has just been sleeping for three to four hours a day. “But I won't complain, because I am having the luxury of doing work that I am really excited about,” she says, talking to us in an interview just before flying out of the city.
Ever since she broke free of the requirements of playing to the gallery (a few unflattering projects like Heyy Babyy and Kismet Konnection) , Vidya has been basking in the warmth of meaty roles that films like Paa and Ishqiya have given her. “These two films fared well even commercially, which is why I am getting to do films that won't fit into the regular hero-heroine formula. No One Killed Jessica has just two women in the forefront,” she says.
She had been following the Jessica Lall murder case like millions of Indians even before the film came her way. “On different occasions, the issue had frustrated and angered me because it could have happened to any one of us,” she says.
For the film, she stuck to the script given to her. “Rajkumar (who directed the critically appreciated Aamir ) and I worked out an emotional graph for Sabrina's character. I went through the events chronologically to understand how Sabrina would react.”
After the earthy sexuality of Ishqiya , Vidya had to go de-glam to play Sabrina. “Sabya (Sabyasachi Mukherjee) and Rani went to London to shop for Rani's clothes. But Sabya didn't take me along. His brief was to make me look like a girl next door, in fact, like someone who would go unnoticed even amidst ten people. He gave me men's t-shirts, oversized shirts, floaters and loose-fitting jeans.” And it worked when they shot in crowded areas in New Delhi with a hidden camera following her. “No one recognised me when I mingled with the public and crossed the roads,” she laughs, and then adds, “I enjoyed not being noticed too. I think everyone is so busy with their own lives these days that they hardly pause to notice who is besides them.”
There were occasions when she got so involved with the movie that Rajkumar had to make her withdraw from the reel character. “He used to tell me ‘we can always re-shoot, but we need you to shoot. Don't get lost in the crowd'.”
Soon after this, Vidya will begin shooting for Dirty Picture , inspired by the life of actress Silk Smita, who was found murdered in her Chennai apartment in 1996. “Unlike the raw sensuality of Ishqiya , Silk Smita's sexuality is almost offensive and in your face,” says Vidya. Will she comfortable portraying it on screen? “I hope so. As an actor, I should give it my best,” she says.
That apart, she features in a guest role for Santhosh Sivan's Urmi and has just shot for Sujoy Ghosh's Kahani , where she plays a pregnant woman who goes to Kolkata in search of her husband. “Enacting the part of a pregnant woman was challenging. Sometimes, I used it to my advantage and told people not to smoke in my presence since I am ‘pregnant',” she guffaws.
The 32-year-old actress is comparatively a late bloomer, but nevertheless managed to find her niche. “I am lucky to be in the industry at this time. I wavered a bit after Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai , but I am happy with the films I am working on now,” she signs off.
