vidya balan at the opening of sabyasachi mukherjee’s first flagship store in delhi. Picture by Jagan negi

“Where are her tantrums? Is she a star?!”

After two hours with Vidya Balan in her seventh floor room in New Delhi’s Hotel Taj Palace, you can’t help but echo designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee’s words describing his first impression of the actress. With no make-up, she still shines in a grass green Juicy Couture tracksuit. But Vidya is not about brand names: her handbag, for instance, doesn’t feel the need to shout any logo.

If Vidya has finally managed to shrug off criticism regarding her fashion sense, it is largely due to her collaborations with Sabya. So she had to be there for the opening of “good friend” and her Paa stylist’s first flagship store in Delhi.

t2 spoke to the star (as she got ready for hair and make-up) and the star designer (who has transformed her image). Here’s Vidya and Sabya unplugged…

What were your first impressions of each other?

Vidya: (Long pause) I met him through a common friend at dinner and I immediately realised we share a sensibility and sense of aesthetics. But I have to say, his clothes made the first impression on me before I had ever seen him.

Sabya: My first impression was exactly this: Where are her tantrums? Is she a star?!

Vidya: I remember the wasabi at dinner hit me and I was drinking glass after glass of water, but when the conversation finally began it was very heartening to meet someone like him. He knew exactly where I was coming from. A comfortable rapport was built quickly. I knew I wanted to work with him. I attended a few of his shows.

Now he indulges me when I call him in the middle of the night to sing Bengali songs, not just one line but verse after verse!

Sabya: She sings Jete jete pathey holo deri!

A still from Paa starring Vidya Balan. Sabyasachi has styled her look for the film

How did Paa happen?

V: When I decided to do Paa I told (director) Balki that I would choose the designer. He happily agreed to Sabyasachi. And when I told Sabyasachi, he wanted to read the script!

S: Yes, after Baabul and Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, I have decided to read scripts. No more “Hi-I-am-Natasha” [Rani Mukerji as the hooker in LCMD] for me!

V: I totally respect that. I mean, I deliberate on a script so I understood where he was coming from…. Paa was so smooth. We just discussed the look a couple of times on the phone and did only one photo shoot about 10 days before we began the film. Sabya, Balki and I were all on the same page. We really enjoyed creating the character. It was not about Vidya Balan doing a film. It was not about any actor doing the film. Sabya realised that the look is not just that of any mother. This mother has a strong personality. She’s a doctor but also enjoys dressing up. She has effortless style. There is hardly any make-up. Just some kajal, small bindi and a big grandfather wrist watch. Since I play a gynaecologist, there are no long nails! Even the shoes couldn’t go clonk-clonk so I am wearing wedges. In fact, P.C. Shriraman, the cameraman, loved Sabya’s colours. He used to say, “the boy who does clothes, tell him he is doing a good job”!

S: In Paa, Vidya’s look is very organic and quite boho-chic. When someone has a career and is confident, she is not insecure in Indian clothes. Hence Vidya wears only khadi in the film, all in earthy, saturated colours and that is what Abhishek Bachchan falls in love with. In Oxford and Cambridge, she wears khadi shirts and jeans and later in the film she wears khadi saris. Just because she becomes a mother, everything doesn’t need to change. Her colours and textures are all the same. She is wearing some maxis, some long shirts with slips and some contrasting kalamkari blouses with plain saris.

Everyone is fed up of plastic perfection. All actresses look like clones of each other — they look, feel and smell the same! Everyone is tired of the neo-preen man or woman. Some people like Vidya and Rani Mukerji are trying to do a different job.

Indianness is big on both your must-be lists…

V: Oh yes! It is all about celebrating who you are. It is being comfortable in your skin. It is the larger picture. It doesn’t matter if you are fat, thin, short, rich or poor, what is important is that we take pride in our Indian-ness.

S: To flaunt your Indianness you have to be secure. The French are very clever. They only want to be themselves and that is why the world wants to be like them. Where is the Indian charm of Waheeda Rehman and Smita Patil? My problem with Bollywood is that it is almost disrespectful to women. Everyone is more secure if the industry is full of dumb blondes instead of intelligent actresses.

You have previously faced flak for your style…

S: Let me say here that I liked Vidya in Heyy Babyy — because I was noticing her, not her clothes. It became national propaganda to talk about her look! People always need a scapegoat. They always want someone to pull up and someone to pull down.

V: I think I gave in to the pressure of doing something different. I was very comfortable in my own skin and was almost too stubborn to change. But when you are on a stage and you do anything to keep the audience engaged, you almost feel obliged to keep them charged, so I tried to change. But one thing that didn’t change was my passion for my work.

S: But today we have all realised that gimmicks don’t sell. People want real, be it food, fashion or films. What happened to Blue, despite semi-clad women and Kylie Minogue?

V: I came under too much pressure. For every photo shoot, people were like ‘let us show Vidya Balan like she’s never been seen before’. But never have I felt the need to toe the line. Having said that, I am glad I went through my experiences. There was confusion and now there is clarity. People have accepted me the way I am and despite whatever has been written about my sense of style, my fans still love me! I kept focusing on the wrong things. Having met Sabya reassures me. Things happen when the time is right.

Let us talk about your favourite garment — the sari...

V: It is the sexiest garment. You can do whatever you want with it — you can look like Meera or…

S: … or like a prostitute! But designers should stop tampering with the sari to show their creativity!

V: I love cotton saris with big borders and contrasting blouses. I also love the Kanjeevaram, that’s the south Indian in me! The Bong in me loves the Bengali way of draping a sari… all I need is big jhumkas, flowers in my hair and nothing is sexier than a nose pin.

Does Bollywood have a distorted body image?

V: Yes, Bollywood does. It almost likes the asexual body type! What it doesn’t realise is that Indian women should celebrate their bodies. Our structure is different. Last year, I had put on some weight and I lost it only to feel better. Everyone should be their correct weight depending on their height etc. I always worked out but recently I have been focused like never before. I used to starve but that just made me put on weight. Now I eat every two hours and enjoy my workouts with my trainer Vilayat Hussain. I told him I wanted to lose excess weight but not my curves. Indian women are blessed with the most beautiful bodies. I love my curves. I am a woman, I don’t want to look like a man! Look at Penelope Cruz…

S: Look at Zeenat Aman. She was sexiest because her body was toned and curvy.

V: And also Salma Hayek…

S: On a rate--metre Salma has the most imperfect body! And yes, Bollywood not only has a distorted body image, it also has a distorted eye and a distorted mind! It is neither here nor there. It has one foot in commercial cinema and the other in arty. It wants to show bhangra but in a branded mini-skirt…

What is wrong with brands?

V: I have a couple of LVs (Louis Vuitton) but I am very happy with my jute bags, jholas or even UK high street labels like Ted Baker. If I like something, I get it. I enter shops without seeing the brand.

S: Ignorance really is bliss. When you enter a branded store you already have a pre-conceived notion but when you are not brand-conscious, you buy what you like.

VIDYASPEAK

Vidya Balan in Parineeta

Gap or Fabindia: Fabindia

Zara or Anokhi: Tough one, I really like Zara…

Style tip that never fails you: If you feel good, you look good.

Style tip that always fails you: Chiffon.

Colour not-so-cool on you: Sky blue, baby blue… they do nothing for me.

How you feel when you slip on a Sabya: Most people want their clothes to define them but Sabya’s clothes are an extension of your own personality. Anyone can look good in a Sabyasachi.

Your Bong connection: Sabya is Bong. So was Ray! Also Uttam Kumar… But seriously, Bengal loves me. And my first film was Bengali so that pretty much sealed the deal.

Favourite look: Parineeta, Paa and Ishqiya where I play a girl from UP in a synthetic sari but with so much aggressive sexuality through the eyes and body language.