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| Vidya Balan on the verandah outside The Palladian Lounge. Picture: B. Halder |
It’s been five long hours of darting from one place to another, launching a Tagore album, lending her voice to raising funds for celebral palsy and stealing a late-night visit to the Kalighat temple. “I’m so sorry to have kept you waiting,” she smiles apologetically as she sinks into a sofa at Taj Bengal on Saturday night for the promised chat. She looks a tad tired and yet radiant in a crimson Bengal handloom sari with a deep spot of orange on her forehead. “There have been very few instances when I haven’t been able to go to Kalighat. That day when I was here for Ghanchakkar, I was on my way to Kalighat but it was pouring. We kept getting stuck in traffic, there was a press conference to attend and I eventually couldn’t go but I was gifted a Durga thakur, so I told myself, Ma is with me, what more do I need… But going to Kalighat for me is a must…”
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| Siddharth Roy Kapur and Vidya |
You look more and more Bengali every time we see you!
That is a compliment! I think the Bengali woman epitomises sensuality and strength and I think I identify with that so much… maybe I was made like that and that’s why I identify with it or maybe I identify with it and therefore I’m turning more Bengali… aaah I don’t know really! (Laughs)
You’ve been campaigning for WWF, CINI, children’s education, nutrition, women’s empowerment, sanitation and now cerebral palsy. Why?
It’s about what you instinctively feel. A journalist who had interviewed me five years ago wrote me a mail asking me if I’d consider this (the cerebral palsy event). I look for reasons to come back to Calcutta and this was a beautiful reason. The Bengal Chamber of Commerce is trying to raise funds and I just felt like doing it. For example, they’re trying to raise funds for the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy. One classroom costs eight lakhs and the Bengal Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring one classroom. Now, if my being there encourages two people somewhere to say, ‘Oh, what is this? Maybe we should contribute too…’ then the purpose is fulfilled. I guess there was something that drew me to this and I was so touched when I saw the children, especially one girl who was so excited about being on stage.
I’m primarily an actor but when I realise that that reach can be leveraged to draw attention to a certain cause, which I feel is a genuine cause, then I either do it when I have the time or I make time. But I’m very instinctive. At times you feel like it but you don’t have the time. Yet there are times when you get invited to a lot of these things but you don’t instinctively feel like it. Sometimes if I don’t believe in attaching myself to too many causes, I’ll only do one-off events.
If you had the power to change one thing about our society, anything in particular that disturbs you, what would you change?
That way, I’d want all the ills in our society to be wiped out if we’re talking hypothetically but I think what we really need is a change in attitude which will happen with education and awareness. That is going to take a long time but we’ve also come a long way. Even when we talk about the various cases in the recent past where people say that the Indian society has gone to the dogs, women are being treated so badly, I’d say yes they are but the good part is that we’re all becoming aware of it. These ills have been in society forever. Thanks to the media, people have the courage to come out and speak about these things. There’s a people’s movement taking place, they’re expressing their distress, angst, frustrations on different platforms. Every drop makes an ocean and nothing will go to waste.
Bollywood is often blamed for the portrayal of women in films, linking that to any kind of crime against women. Having played very strong woman-centric characters on screen, how do you see it?
Yes, because Hindi cinema and television have the widest reach in the country. There could be various other things influencing people but considering these mediums have the largest reach I think fingers get pointed. What is important to realise is that cinema is just a reflection of society. In cinema you see what is happening around us. I’m not saying there’s a need to perpetuate that but having said that, two songs like a Chikni Chameli cannot a rape make. It’s obviously a lot else that has to change. I think those item numbers have anyway become fewer. I don’t know, am I right about that? (Pauses to think for a while) But I think we’re all getting that much more responsible. Even when the Uttarakhand disaster happened, everyone raised questions about, ‘What has Bollywood done?’ I said, ‘Even if Bollywood has done something, maybe we don’t want to talk about it.’ I definitely don’t. There are some things that should remain personal. Of course when celebrities champion a cause it gets eyeballs but I think with calamities like these, it is everybody’s responsibility. No one should be pushed to contribute out of fear of what will be said or written. One should do it out of wanting to.
Coming to Calcutta, does it feel or appear a little different every time you come back?
Yes, roads are wider, cleaner, of course the airport is new… [She is suddenly interrupted by Sujoy ‘Kahaani’ Ghosh who surprises her with a soft tap on her back] What a cool look (pointing at Sujoy’s cropped and spiky hair)! It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you, Sujoy Ghosh… joto dosh Sujoy Ghosh! [Both laugh out loud. Sujoy saunters away leaving the interviewee alone and to wait for her on the sidelines while Vidya gets back to the chat with a sweet ‘Sawwry’.] So yes, there’s a lot of new structures that I’m seeing on the way from the airport through Rajarhat.
Apart from Kalighat, any other must-see, must-do, must-eat and must-take-back every time you’re in this city?
(Starts counting her fingers) Begun bhaja I have to eat. If I can help it, if I’m not on a very strict diet and if I feel like an indulgence then luchi-ghugni from Sree Hari, I try my best to go there. And one drive around Deshapriya Park, Victoria and places where we’ve shot a lot, especially for Kahaani… that I haven’t been able to do too often. Then there’s Maharani’r ‘chaay’ and Mona Lisa (guest house, both on Sarat Bose Road) I just want to wave at. Oh, there’s polong shaak, sorry (quickly corrects herself) paa-long shaak-er chochhori. And for all this, I try my best to come to Taj Bengal where I’ve spent so much time it feels like home and their staff is the most courteous in the whole world!
The last Bengali word you picked up?
Shokolkey … I learnt that a few minutes ago from Anjanda (Dutt) when he said, ‘Shokolkey nomoshkar.’ I always say ‘shobaikey’.
What is the strongest connection you feel with Calcutta at this point?
That Calcutta receives me with open arms. Even when I was unknown to them. My mother says it’s a past-life connect. I remember this, at a Starbucks abroad there was this guy whose accent told me he’s Bengali. I asked him where he’s from and he said Bangladesh and I spoke to him. I’d been out of home for two weeks and I suddenly felt at home!
After Ghanchakkar, have you been on a strict diet regimen for Shaadi Ke Side Effects?
I’m almost done with Shaadi Ke Side Effects, have about 10 days left. It’s a different person in Shaadi Ke Side Effects. When you see her, you’ll see her. At the moment that’s all I would say. I had kept the weight that I had gained for The Dirty Picture in Ghanchakkar. And now it’s some-BODY else! (Laughs out loud)
People fuss about weight so much but it’s amazing how you shift shapes to fit roles. How easy or challenging is this weight gain-weight-loss process, really?
It’s not easy. Ghanchakkar was a little easier than The Dirty Picture because during Dirty Picture I hadn’t done it before. I’m someone who’s had weight issues all along, you know. But I think Dirty Picture liberated me in my head. After that I said, whatever weight I am, I don’t care, as long as I’m feeling good. If there were any blocks keeping me away from the belief that ‘you can be any way… as long as you feel good, you’ll look good’, those blocks disappeared with The Dirty Picture. The film had parts where I needed to look fitter, so I’d still work out. For Ghanchakkar I’ve just not worked out. She needed to be real; someone who likes her food. In Shaadi Ke Side Effects it’s a different person.
You tied the knot (with Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV) six months back. What are those ‘shaadi ke side effects’ you’ve discovered in real life?
Okay, so I’m a Tamil Brahmin from Kerala who speaks both the languages. I was born and brought up in Bombay. I’m Bengali at heart and now I’m married to a Punjabi Jew! So yeah, I’m quite a cosmopolitan curry! (Laughs) That apart, I just wish Siddharth and I could spend some more time together, you know! When you end up staying in the same house you land up not spending that much time together. Probably because you’re taking it for granted. Both of us have been working like beasts so I think we both deserve to spend some time together. Before marriage we used to spend so much time… like, even in the middle of the night we wanted to go and meet each other… par abhi toh ghar ki murgi aur ghar ka murga! (Laughs out loud)
Even six months before your marriage you had told t2: ‘I will get married, I just don’t know when.’ Do you remember that moment when you felt: ‘This is it… I’m ready for marriage’?
No… suddenly one day I felt I was ready. Till then I just didn’t know. Friends of mine would ask me ‘You have been seeing each other for a while’ and I’d say ‘I know but until I feel like it or he feels like it, it’s not going to happen’. And then luckily both of us felt like it at the same time! So it was good…
Did you ever worry about the timing given that your career was soaring and actresses are advised against marriage at such a time?
No, not at all. I don’t think all this counts anymore. It’s about how you feel about yourself. I’m an actor, I’ll always be an actor. What used to happen is…. Now extramarital affairs are the fashion, so you don’t mind looking at another person’s wife and lusting after her but there was a time when people didn’t have those extramarital affairs, so if a heroine got married you didn’t want to desire her. Now people don’t care! (Laughs)
So does he watch all your films and are you taking an interest in production now?
He better watch every film of mine! We don’t get involved in each other’s decisions but we share them with each other. Decisions are always very independent and we both respect each other’s need and ability to make these decisions. During Ghanchakkar, for example, we didn’t talk about it at all because it was a film he and I were both involved in. [UTV produced Ghanchakkar.] For any interaction, I would talk to the team directly or with Ronnie (Screwvala) and it worked out well. Not like I was asking him, ‘Okay, how many hoardings?’... not that I ask those questions anyway and he didn’t ever ask me, ‘Are you doing these, these and these promotions?’ (Laughs) So far it’s only been good!
What about a couple-visit to Calcutta?
I’d love it! We’ve not had too much time together but like they say ma-er bari... my ma-er bari might be Bombay and my parents and I live in that city but when I come to Calcutta, I feel it’s ma-er bari. There’s Kalighat and that’s Ma-er bari. I’d love to take him to Kalighat. I don’t think he’s ever been there. He’s gone to Flurys and those places but I want to take him through the streets of Calcutta in the middle of the night and show him my favourite places. Chowdhury Guest House, where we lived during Parineeta... places where we’ve shot.
You’ve been a game changer, you seem happy in your personal space, you’re looking great… life seems to have come full circle for you. What ambitions do you nurse now ?
I never had a fixed goal or ambition. I’m just living my dream, which is why I think I’m happy. I’m of course acting, playing different roles, my work is being appreciated, the movies are doing well, I’m receiving so much love.... God is kind, ya… I don’t think beyond. More and more I realise it’s all in the ‘here and now’. There’s no point planning for the future. Maybe something better is in store that you can’t imagine. I just let it unfold.
You won yet another best actress award for Kahaani at IIFA. How much are you looking forward to Kahaani 2?
I don’t know…please call that man! [Starts looking for Sujoy] Please call him. I’m meeting him after months in Calcutta! I called him just today and said, ‘Listen I’m in Calcutta, staying at Taj Bengal, in the room where I used to stay during Kahaani’; where he and his assistants would come and we’d discuss scenes... and I was getting very nostalgic and he says, ‘Oh, I’m also here!’
So, have you been after him for the sequel?
No, no… not at all. I don’t know how people write, I can’t imagine myself writing ever but writing, I believe, takes time and he should do what he wants to. If Kahaani (the sequel) is meant to happen it will. I’ve never chased anything like that… that this has to happen, has to happen, has to happen! I think it only gets better then.
If Vidya Bagchi was the show-stealer for Kahaani, who would be one for you out of the films you’ve watched recently?
Farhan (Akhtar) in Milkha (Bhaag Milkha Bhaag)! For sure. What Farhan’s done is unbelievable. I’ve met Mr Milkha Singh and when I saw Farhan on screen I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t see Farhan Akhtar anywhere! Of course he’s a fabulous actor but this is a biopic and the gentleman is still there in flesh and blood for us to see... I think Farhan inspires me. He’s a true inspiration.
What about the three Khans? You still haven’t worked with them…
If there’s an exciting script that can bring me together with them, I’d be more than happy. I’m a greedy actor but there doesn’t seem to be anything exciting so far.
What projects do we see you getting busy with?
Nothing now… I have to decide what I’m doing next. I’m going through scripts, meeting people and seeing what excites me. But I want to sleep for two weeks at least. I’m very sleep-deprived. Ghanchakkar, Shaadi ke Side Effects, Melbourne, Gold Coast, Cannes, IIFA and then yesterday I was in… Where was I yesterday? (Rolls her eyes, thinks hard and finally asks her assistant) Oh yes, Kerala! See, I’m drawing a blank… and today I’m in Calcutta. I do one or two films a year and that’s how it has been... forever. Not taking it slower than before or faster. I’m not in a hurry to reach anywhere because I’m here to stay… well, I’m hoping I’m here to stay! (Signs off with the trademark Vidya Balan laugh.)
VIDYA’S FAVE THINGS IN CAL
Eating Begun bhaja
Going to Sree Hari for luchi-ghugni
Driving around Deshapriya Park, Victoria and places where we’ve shot a lot, especially for Kahaani…
Stop at Maharani’r ‘chaay’ and wave at Mona Lisa guest house
Have palong shaak-er chochhori
Stay at Taj Bengal
