In fact a closer study of her filmography pretty much confirms that after Katrina Kaif, she easily has the best success rate amongst leading ladies today with at least one hit a year ever since her debut effort Parineeta (2005). No wonder, when Vidya moves from her ‘maa’ performance in Paa to a ‘woman with desires of her own’ (in her own words) in Ishqiya, she makes viewers look forward to what’s new that she has to offer in the New Year. More so because in the film she makes men as diverse as Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi dance to her tune.

“This is the best time to be working in movies”, declares Vidya who now has two back to back successes in her kitty with Ishqiya following Paa, “Earlier when any filmmaker even thought of making a non-formulaic film, it used to be slotted as an art film there and then. Soon after it would be considered as economical unviable and unfortunately there wasn’t much progress that any of such brilliant ideas made. I guess there was an attempt in the late 70s and the early 80s but then ever since NFDC has stopped making films, all doors seemed to be shut. However, in the current decade we are back to making different kind of films. Yes, it’s a slow but a steady journey for sure. At least now with movies like Ishqiya, we have started pushing the envelope a little more.”

At the beginning of 2009, it was Anurag Kashyap directed Dev D that followed a non-conformist approach towards cinema. Circa 2010 and the year has begun well with Ishqiya. It appears like finally there is some trend in the making here with mainstream actors not feeling shy about lending their support to films that break commercial mould. After Abhay Deol, it is nice to see Vidya Balan too joining the fray.

“I think what is actually happening is that even audiences want to see different things today. This is why when a few experiments worked earlier, people just lapped it up. Movies like Bheja Fry pretty much paved the way for quality films in controlled budget to start making an appearance because once these films worked, more and more people from the industry were further encouraged to present different ideas. It was obvious that even unconventional and non-formulaic films can work if packed, marketed, promoted and presented well. Slowly there are steps being taken due to which audiences too are accepting varied subjects with open arms. Thankfully, there are better budgets being offered as well in spite of increase in experimental cinema”, Vidya goes on to share her ‘gyaan’ on the advent of new age cinema.

She can’t be blamed though if she is sounding all excited about the advent of a different kind of cinema. After all, she is one of the rare female actors who has agreed to play the role of a mother in two films (Paa, Heyy Babyy), someone who has psychological disorder (Bhool Bhulaiyaa), a woman suffering from an ailment (Guru, Salaam E Ishq) and now a widow who doesn’t mind getting into an intense romance with love (Naseeruddin Shah) and lust (Arshad Warsi) as the driving force. With the ‘Jessica Lal’ based film already in her kitty and things looking promising with Gulzar’s next seemingly quite close, Vidya sure is getting all her calculations right.

Both movies released Friday and had star-studded red-carpet premieres in the capital Thursday, but “Ishqiya” took the cake with almost 80 percent collections in the opening weekend. “Rann” got only around 30 percent collections.

“‘Ishqiya’ has got a strong opening in both Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in both multiplexes and single-screens. It has got around 80 percent business over the initial weekend,” Yogesh Raizada, corporate head (cinemas) of Wave Cinemas, told IANS.

“The dialogue delivery in the movie is very good and it is a typical masala movie but the drawback is that everyone might not like it because it has its own class. While ‘Rann’ is gripping but has managed only around 30 percent opening. There has been no initial for this one. It has its own class but no mass appeal,” he added.

Delhi-based distributor Joginder Mahajan also echoed the same.

“‘Rann’ has fared very poorly thanks to its subject. ‘Ishqiya’ on the other hand has been average vis-a-vis ‘Rann’. It is an ordinary affair with local appeal. Though the masses are watching it but the film is not for everyone because some are finding it a bit cheap,” said Mahajan.

“Surprisingly, ‘Ishqiya’ is performing better in multiplexes and not in B and C sectors. We are expecting it to earn an average Rs.2 crore overall in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh,” he added.

Distributed in India by Boney and Sridevi Kapoor’s film and television entertainment company BSK Network and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, “Ishqiya” has been co-produced by Shemaroo Entertainment and Vishal Bhardwaj.

The directorial debut of Abhishek Chaubey, the movie has actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi.

“Rann” on the other hand has been made at a budget of Rs.30 crore and is primarily about the conflict between business and conscience in the electronic media. It features megastar Amitabh Bachchan along with Riteish Deshmukh, Gul Panag and Paresh Rawal.

“The failure of ‘Rann’ has again given a dud out of Ram Gopal Varma’s camp. While ‘Ishqiya’ has the rustic and poetic appeal very common to Vishal Bhardwaj. No matter whatever the fate, his movies somehow do manage to leave an effect on the audiences’ minds,” said an industry source.

Expected to stretch for the week, “Ishqiya” now sees competition with Shah Rukh Khan-Kajol’s much-awaited first release of the year “My Name Is Khan” releasing Friday.

CHECK OUT:
ISHQIYA MOVIE REVIEW

Not many actress will have the courage to say ‘yes’ to turn mother on screen for the fear of being typecast. And to play the mother of the megastar Amitabh Bachchan is a big challenge in itself. Vidya Balan is daring enough to play the role of a mother in the much-hyped film Paa, of course not without receiving the flaks.

Buzz up!
Yes, Vidya Balan, who has been trashed for her fashion choices in the past, was criticized for putting on weight. But it was inevitable, as she plays Auro’s (Amitabh) mother in Paa. It is yet to be seen if her role in the film will bring her accolades, but one thing is for sure, this kind of role will not come everyday, as the film deals with progeria, a rare disorder that makes a person age at a very young age.

Vidya said that she received lots of bad comments because of her weight though she didn’t like criticism. But she wanted to push herself as a professional. She added that she feels healthier now.

It was a dream-come-true for her to play the mother of Amitabh Bachchan. She said that it was surreal but later became addictive because Amitabh was so convincing as the 13-year-old Auro. She added that she could connect to him as his mother.

Here is an actress who is ready to push the boundaries!

Vidya Balan thinks cricketer Zahir Khan is the hottest! “He is the hottest cricketer on the block, he may be quiet, but he seems to be a strong man from within” is what Vidya quoted to a popular tabloid.

Now considering that Zahir is not single any longer and will tie a knot soon, will this mean that Vidya’s hot property will be taken away? And Vidya has not just taken to cricket but also cricketers. We wonder what Zahir has to tell about his latest fan from the tinsel town.

Keeping the tradition of bringing exclusive news intact, Bollywood Hungama does yet another cracker of a news breaker. Vidya Balan has been signed as the Brand Ambassador for Airtel.

This Bollywood beauty is on a signing spree, not just on screen, but off screen as well. The news of her being the Brand Ambassador for Airtel comes just days after her being signed as the Brand Ambassador for Toshiba. She has already shot for the commercial with yet another southern heartthrob Madhavan, with Vinil Mathew of FootCandle Productions, calling the shots.

Talking about Vidya Balan, R. Chandrasekhar – Head of Brand And Media, Bharti Airtel, said, “Spontaneity and vibrancy are key attributes of Airtel. Vidya is a hugely talented actress who brings a lot of freshness and naturalness to any role. We are sure that these traits of Vidya will have a positive rub off on the brand as well.”

With Vidya’s career soaring up and up in the ‘Air’, it’s really easy to ‘Tel’ that who is the next top most contender to the Queen Bee slot! What say Miss Balan!

She stepped in as a girl-next-door in a family comedy serial ‘Hum Paanch’. Then she slowly started taking the Bollywood steps. With each movie, we saw a different Vidya emerging every time on-screen. Try how much ever; she is not able to shed her homely looks and coy image. She tried her hand at glamour roles but was met with fashion goof-ups and that proved that sexy tag is not her cuppa. Now she is back in de-glam role with Vishal Bhardwaj’s ‘Ishqiya’.

‘Ishqiya’ is a directorial debut of Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Raman Maroo and Vishal Bharadwaj. The movie has Vidya Balan, Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah. Going by the trailers, Vidya is playing a simple village belle but has tried some ‘bold’ scenes in the movie. She is featured to be doing steamy scenes with Arshad Warsi and also rumoured to play darker shades in this one.

Now this is something scorchy for Vidya fans! She had surprised us before with a hot lip-lock scene in ‘Guru’ with Madhavan. Now here, a kissy scene with Arshad is really an unexpected one!

The actress has turned a cricket fan too. And guess who her favourite cricketer is. Well It’s Zaheer Khan!

Said a source close to Vidya, ”Vidya thinks Zaheer is the hottest cricketer on the block. What appeals to her is his coyness. Vidya feels that his quite nature may give a different impression but he is a strong man from within.”

It is said that even a small thing would instantly send her into peals of laughter. Making the use of the situation, Arshad Warsi, the hero of the movie, started calling her ‘Giggles’. He revealed, “Vidya laughs a lot and can’t control herself. She just goes on laughing like crazy. She doesn’t even need someone to crack a joke… she laughs just like that. Sometimes she used to crack up in the middle of a shot and then Naseerudin and I had to wait till she finished… Man, that’s some talent she has! So we call her Giggles.”

Heyy Babyy, control yaar!