Jyothi Venkatesh of NRI Achievers caught up with actress Vidya Balan in Mumbai, and chatted with her on Ghanchakkar, her first comedy film, her outlook post her marriage to Siddharth Roy Kapur, her work and her forthcoming projects …
Isn’t Ghanchakkar your first comedy ?
Yes. It’s my first ever comedy film as an actress. What I like the best about the character of Neetu in the film is that she is a very relatable person. The character is intended to be in a certain way. Neetu is a middle class person who wants to be modern by wearing the kinds of clothes that draw attention to her from people around her. Neetu will go to the local market and ask the tailor there to stitch her clothes by giving him copies of fashion magazines. Neetu is happy being her and does not at all find fault with herself.
You are known as an intense actress thanks to your roles in films like No One Killed Jessica and Kahaani. Did you feel out of place when you set out to do a comedy ?
After doing intense roles like in Kahani and No One Killed Jessica, I was really looking forward to freak out by doing a comedy film when Raj Kumar Gupta came to me with the script. Besides the fact that I liked the script when Raj narrated it to me, Raj is one filmmaker who I trust implicitly and Ghanchakkar, let me reiterate is not a run of the mill comedy but Raj’s take on different things. Raj does not set out to make any attempt to make you laugh
You came in for a lot of criticism for your outlandish dress at Cannes where you were part of the jury this year. Your response ?
It isn’t something new for either me or my costume designer Sabyasachi. It is true that as a public person, I have to face criticisms at every step but I do not think of that because I do not want to be subjected to pressure of any sort.
In what way has marriage to Siddharth Roy Kapur changed you as a person or actress ?
As an actress, I would be honest enough to confess that there has been absolutely no change as far as I am concerned because Siddharth is quite chilled out as a human being and knows the pressures of the profession since he himself is a part of the film industry. However, as a woman, the major difference is that I am handling our home front too.
Do you also cook at home ?
I have not tried my hand at cooking after my marriage, though I should confess that Maggie is the only dish that I can cook and hence I restrict my cooking to the screen. However my father in law and mother in law are both fantastic cooks and they love to pamper every one of us at home by making the choicest of dishes.
What next after Ghanchakkar ?
I am now reading scripts but will take a call only after the release of Ghanchakkar on June 28. My next will be Shaadi Ke Side Effects. It is directed by Farhan Akhtar who is also playing the lead in it. It is a different kind of film which sets out to look at the after effects of marriage in a different way.
What about Kahani 2 ?
Sujoy has to take a call to launch Kahani 2 though there are plans to make the sequel. Right now he is back in Wales with his family and also working on a script but he has not told me anything about it. He si also involved ion the post production of late filmmaker Rituparno Ghosh’s last Bengali film Satyanweshi in which he is playing the role of the popular sleuth Byomkesh Bakshi.