JOIN USIt’s all in the name: Vidya Balan conjures up the image of a determined, assertive actor who is not on an egoistic trip to show that she can do well without male superstars. In fact, she is someone who has found a distinct niche in an organic fashion. Humbly, she says, “I barely happened to work with the male superstars, and now people approach me for different kinds of movies.” And Kahaani 2 is yet another example.
After successes like Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica and a super-hit The Dirty Picture, Vidya, out of sheer conviction, did what her director Sujoy Ghosh termed as the “wrongest picture possible” — Kahaani — and the duo trumped. This was the final motion picture that consolidated the media tag of ‘Female Khan’ on the actor.
Told that director Anurag Kashyap has hugely complimented her about this, she says warmly, “It’s humbling when people say such nice things about you.” She goes on, enumerating her later releases, Ghanchakkar, Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Bobby Jasoos, Hamari Adhuri Kahani, Te3n and the Marathi movie Ekk Albela, all of which nosedived, “I don’t think it’s me. It’s the film in total that works. I alone cannot make it succeed,” she states humbly, and adds with a mischievous edge to her voice: “Not yet!”
So, what are her hopes from Kahaani 2? “It’s heartbreaking for me when any film does not do well,” she replies. “With the effort we put in, we want our films to be watched by the maximum number of people possible. So, I want Kahaani 2 to do well.”
Will the demonetisation hiccups make a dent in her film’s business? “Two things,” she replies. “One, I am not a fatalist, but I firmly believe every film has its destiny. Having said that, the demonetisation problems have lessened, I believe. Dear Zindagi has had a good opening, I am told. And two, I am not into numbers or business as I do not really understand them. Look, Sujoy and I have made a good film. Now, the janta janardhan will decide.”
Still, does she get pre-release jitters, or feel the pressure since it is the sequel to a huge hit? “No, I do not. Because, as I said, we have put in our best. And Kahaani 2 is a completely different story. Vidya Bagchi, my character in Kahaani, is not there in the film. And Sujoy made sure no other common actor came in, to avoid any confusion.”
But Kahaani 2, admits Vidya, was born out of a desire to make a true sequel to that film. “Sujoy and I tried out many ideas and plots for Vidya Bagchi, but nothing was really inspiring us. Then he suggested a different film called Durga Rani Singh, also a thriller. It sounded promising. Sometime later, he called me to narrate a fresh version of the same subject, and said that it could be called Kahaani 2. I was reluctant, but he said, ‘Ek baar sun to lo’ (At least hear it once). And when I heard it, everything fell into place.”
Continuing the streak
So, has Kahaani 2 nothing in common with the first film, apart from Vidya, Sujoy and the genre? “Oh, there is something common — Kolkata,” laughs Vidya. “I love the way people there still call me ‘Bidda Bagchi’ with the Bengali intonation. It’s fascinating how a name can sound so different from state to state in the way it is uttered,” Vidya says.
Cautious about revealing “too much”, Vidya explains that the film has two avatars of her. “Durga is someone who loves to stay in her own world — a complete introvert. She is also not what she seems to be on the surface. The other avatar is the mother.” She goes on, “Then something happens in Durga’s life. She is accused of kidnapping and murder. The suspense element is: how true is that? Do we have one mother and one murderer? Or are both of them mothers and murderers? Or is one of them both?”
How much did this role challenge the actor in her? “Durga is obviously complicated, and with an obsessive streak. To maintain that was tricky and obviously something new for me as an actor. And I just love something new. It’s like this: Sujoy writes the smallest detail in his scripts, so my work is halved as an actor. Sujoy and I, after working together on Kahaani and in a different way in Te3n, have a complete understanding. There is no formal prep. When we discuss a film, it’s mostly peppered with small talk. Then he says something deep and leaves. And I am left wondering why he said it and call him for an explanation,” she explains.
How much did Vidya identify with each of her avatars? “Frankly, one of them is secretive and I do not think I can keep secrets for so long. Mere pet mein rahega hi nahin (I will never be able to keep it to myself).” She laughs and adds, “And Durga is a loner. But I can’t keep to myself. I need people around me as I love people. I want to be seen by people too, which is why I am an actor,” Vidya admits.
Feminist roles
And, for her, that’s an exciting aspect of being an actor. “While acting, if I can create a different person, it’s very exciting for me,” Vidya says, adding that she is very happy with the way things have gone in her 11-year career. “It’s been a great journey, and I wouldn’t have it another way,” she says happily. “I live my dream day after day. I get drawn to stories where women are important. And I am happy that today, such film subjects veer towards me as much as I veer towards them.”
Coming up are Begum Jaan, the remake of a Bengali film called Rajkahini, and her latest assignment as a night-show radio jockey in Tumhari Sulu, which she laughingly says will show her naughty side.
With so many heroine-based films coming up even with other actors, what would be her take on some actors and women objecting to what they see as a condescending term — “heroine-oriented cinema”?
Sensibly, she replies, “Such films are still rare, given the total cinema we make, so I think it is alright to refer to them that way. We still have some time to go before the ratio becomes equal. Then, maybe, we can refer to any film as just a film. Like in Hollywood, no one calls Gravity a woman-oriented subject.”
Would she like to go beyond acting? “You mean, like turn director? Well, never say never, but I do not think I can handle so many people at one time. I just do my job as an actor, and never get involved in choosing the shots, sitting on the music or background score, or on the edit.”
Well, we will wait for the time she does.