Vidya Balan Fansite

Pristine. Girl next door. The next Madhubala.. Or is it Meena Kumari.. These are just a few things that precede any discussion about her. She made waves as Lolita with her freshness and intensity in her first, Parineeta. She has been on a lull, but is now in a post-hiatus work mode.

She changes her cellphone caller tune quite often.. especially when she’s travelling on shoots.. it helps her kill time. These days her phone croons, O mere sona re sona re..romantic..hmmm..

An interesting choice of caller tune.. Is love in the air?
(Laughs) No..no.. it’s nothing like that. Whenever I am bored, I go through the caller tune list. This song happens to be one of my favourites. Asha Parekh and Shammi Kapoor were great in this song. I loved the energy about it. That’s the only reason it’s my caller tune.

So, it’s not for someone special.
No.

But everyone is still talking about you and John Abraham.
I’m yet to find out where all this news is coming from. It’s a figment of someone’s imagination.. I’ve learned the art of laughing it out. It doesn’t bother me anymore. Though, before I entered the tinsel town, I used to feel that there can be no smoke without fire.. today I think differently.

Have you ever met Bipasha Basu?
Just once.

How was the meeting?
She was cordial. See, everyone here is mature. They’ve realised that link-ups are part of our profession.

You had mentioned once that Sanjay Dutt, after being linked with you, mumbled a ‘hello’ and moved away.
I was misquoted. Sanju is too seasoned to get fazed by these rumours. He has always made me feel comfortable and has no issues with me. I’ve been linked all the time.. and will be linked further. I’ve learnt to be cool about it.

You are doing two films with Akshay Kumar Bhool Bhulaiya and Heyy Babyy. Is something happening between the two of you?
Oh god, no way. You know what, Akshay treats me like a boy. In fact, everyone on the sets of Heyy Babyy treated me like a boy. The atmosphere was very friendly and if the media decides to link me.. they’ll have to link me with all my other co-stars - Akshay, Riteish (Deshmukh) and Fardeen (Khan).

Since you have admitted to being a diehard romantic.. what’s your definition of romance?
Mood ke hisaab se. Since it’s monsoon now, my idea of romance would be having chai and bhajiya on the street lined with trees.. and listening to Shubha Mudgal’s Ab ke sawan..

Alone?
Of course, I don’t have anyone in my life. So, who do you expect I’ll be with?

How long do you intend to be alone?
Hello, I can’t decide to fall in love overnight.. and get married the next morning. I’ll fall in love when I have to. Though, I must say, I would love to be with someone. But at the moment, I’m not chasing the idea of falling in love.

You mean, it’s only work for you?
It’s been work, work and more work. But now, I’ve taken a break. I’m resting after working non-stop for so many months. I choose not to take up any projects for a while. I am doing everything I like to do.

And what is it that you like to do?
Spending a lot of time with my family and friends, exercising a bit and getting my sleeping schedule right. And of course, going out for movies with friends.

Movies in the theatre? Don’t you get mobbed?
This is Mumbai. People here are not that star stuck. But then, a few fans do come up to me, praise my work and ask for autographs. But before I grab more attention, I vanish from the scene. I’m a shy person.

Have you tried to see a film in disguise?
No way. I’m always in my jeans and T-shirt with tied hair.

Tied hair? Hope it’s not tied oily hair.
(Laughs out loud) No way.. I hate oiling my hair.

The beginning of this year was a bit sticky for you with Salaam-E-Ishq and Eklavya not faring well.
I disagree. I was convinced about what I was doing. I loved my track in Salaam-e-Ishq. There is a lesson to learn here. When you are making a film of that magnitude.. with so many actors.. you get carried away. As for Eklavya, it was a Vidhu Vinod Chopra movie. Even if he asks me to stand in one frame, I would do it. His films always have a certain quality.

What about your insignificant role in Guru? It was a great script and then there was Mani Ratnam.. And there was also Madhavan opposite you.
I don’t go by actors.. for me it’s only the role, the script and the director.
As far as my co-star is concerned, even if Mani sir pairs me with a tree, I would do it. Though the role was not meant to have turned out the way it did. I guess it was yet another lesson learnt. I’ll be careful in the future before taking up any project.

Careful in what sense?
I would want to read the script fully before I take up any project.. even with the best of the directors.

News is that though you agreed to come on Koffee With Karan, later you stopped taking calls or replying to text messages.
That’s not true. I was okay with being on Koffee With Karan. I even had a word with Karan. I was supposed to shoot their first schedule but I guess they didn’t find another person to pair with me. Later on, I got busy shooting.

Don’t you regret losing out on Laaga Chunari Mein Daag directed by your mentor Pradeep Sarkar?
Rani Mukherji bagged the role. I was supposed to have done it but the shooting got delayed. My next dates were with Sajid (Nadiadwala).. I had committed to do the film with him. It is really unfortunate that I couldn’t be a part of Laaga Chunari..

In the process you ended up upsetting Yashraj Films.
I’m sure everyone understands commitment. Dada (Pradeep Sarkar) is upset but I’m sure he’ll always be by my side.. my bonding with him goes beyond the film. How I wish to be a part of all his films.

News is that you’ve replaced Aishwarya Rai in R Balki’s PA featuring Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan.
I too have read about it. Funnily, I haven’t heard anything from the guys who are making the movie. Inshaallah.

You’re paired with Shahid Kapur for Aziz Mirza’s next which incidentally is a love story of an elder girl and younger boy. Comment.
Yes.. yes even I heard about it. It’s quite bizzare. In fact, a few journos even asked me about it. I have decided not to comment on it. It was also reported that I did a photoshoot with Shahid. But I’ve never met him till date. I just want to keep mum about the subject.

You declined Meghna Gulzar’s Puran Masi too.
I don’t want to do films based on short stories. I would love to work with Meghna.. you know I’m a huge fan of her father (Gulzar). I was honest enough to tell her and she understood. There is no grudge between us.

Lastly, are there any plans of shifting from Chembur?
(Laughs) I have been told many times that I stay too far away. But I’m quite used to the distance. Also my parents would never agree to shift… and I won’t live without them.
hindustantimes.com

The demure actress stormed into the Indian film industry with impressive performances as lead in two highly successful films but then apparently lost her way trying to rediscover herself playing small roles with big Industry names.

After Vidya Balan stormed into the Indian film industry with two highly successful films and swept five awards as a promising debutante (2005), her fans have been left asking for more.

While Parineeta and Lage Raho Munnabhai were huge hits, her roles in Guru and Eklavya had little meat on them. Worse, Salaam-e-Ishq bombed badly at the Box Office.

The Mumbai bred Tamil Brahmin girl with a quintessential ethnic Indian face seems to have lost her way doing small roles with big brands.

Since the release of Lage Raho Munnabhai Balan has remained in the news more for the gossip surrounding her than the roles she essayed in the films that followed.

To begin with there was gossip about the effervescent actor’s vibes with Saif Ali Khan in the period classic Parineeta. Later, she was linked with Sanjay Dutt and John Abraham, her co-stars from Lage Raho Munnabhai and Salaam-e-Ishq.

Balan shrugs off the gossip saying, “…I haven’t found a man I’d like to spend my life with. When he comes along, I’ll give up everything, career included. Do you think I’d risk that kind of commitment at this stage of my career when things are going well?” she counters.

Balan has surely traveled a long way from her role in television soap (Hum Paanch), scores of advertisements and music video appearances. Despite the apparent drift in her career at this stage Balan fans need not despair. Her commitment to her profession is strong.

Balan will be next seen in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Halla Bol. Other stars in the film that is currently in post production include Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor and Pankaj Kapoor.

Other Balan films lined up include Sajid Khan’s Hey Baby which is still filming and additionally features Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Ritesh Deshmukh and Boman Irani.

The 25 year old actor who celebrates her birthday on New Year’s Day is slated to play the lead role in a mega project by Priyadarshan, called Chandramukhi, the story of a disturbed woman. Actor Shobhana had won a National award for the portrayal in the original Malayalam film.

A trained carnatic singer and with enough ‘Bharatanatyam’ training in her to save the day, Vidya hopes to win awards and be noticed with Chandramukhi.

Kirti Pandey
sawf.org

Vidya Balan (January 1, 1982) born in Palghat, Kerala, is an Indian actress based in Mumbai, India.

Her father PR Balan is the Vice President of ETC Channel and her mother is a home maker. She has an older sister, Priya. She loves Indian classical music from Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad Chaurasia to Shubha Mudgal and Kishori Amonkar.

Vidya Balan started work as an actress in the Malayalam movie Chakram, paired against Mohanlal, however the film was abandoned mid-way through production. After making her debut in television advertising as a model for a Surf Excel advertisement in 1998, she proceeded to do over 25 TV ads, (mostly directed by Pradeep Sarkar), followed with a variety of acting stints in music videos (Euphoria, Shubha Mudgal and Pankaj Udhas), Hindi TV soap operas (Hanste Khelte and Hum Paanch) and a Bengali movie, Bhaalo Theko, for which she won the Best Actress Anand Lok Puraskar award in Kolkata. She was also in a Raza.com commercial played all over the world, featuring Shaan’s song Tanha Dil.

In 2005, Balan debuted in her first feature film Parineeta, a Vidhu Vinod Chopra production in Hindi, directed by Pradeep Sarkar. The film met with widespread critical and commercial success. The film also led to a spate of movies being offered to the actress, most notably movies by leading directors including Manirathnam.

In 2006 she teamed up once again with Chopra and Sanjay Dutt for the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai.

A malayalee from the town of Palakkad (Palghat) in Kerala, Vidya Balan grew up in Mumbai, attended St. Xavier’s College, Bombay and later the University of Mumbai. She graduated from college with a Sociology degree. She speaks several languages including Tamil, English, Hindi, Malayalam, and Bengali.