Vidya Balan on why she opted out of the Meena Kumari biopic and the other interesting ones that she let go of
Nayandeep Rakshit (DNA; November 8, 2017)

The biopic on Meena Kumari had gone from Kangana Ranaut’s kitty to Vidya Balan’s. Initially, when Tigmanshu Dhulia had announced that he was casting Kangana to play the late actress in his film, the Pakeezah heroine’s family members issued a press statement explaining why she was not the right choice.

Though Vidya was keen to do it, she recently opted out of the same. Vidya says, “No, I’m not doing the Meena Kumari-biopic anymore. It didn’t quite work out. I love Meena Kumari. If I had a girl crush on somebody, it would be her. If she was alive, I’d probably land up to see her all the time. I am that fascinated by her. I always wanted to play her.”

What went wrong, we ask. She reasons, “The script has to do justice. It can’t just be a sensational account of her life, even if she is not around. It has to present different episodes of her life and not just the ones that will grab eyeballs. So, I decided not to do it.”

She further explains, “I did The Dirty Picture, there was sensationalism in that but that was Silk. But for everything, you can’t just focus on the sensational bits of a person’s life. I am happy to do the controversial bits as long as it’s a well rounded perspective.

Also, biopics are very sensitive and they need to be done for the right reasons. You can’t make a biopic on Meena Kumari just because you feel sab dekhenge. Even if the person is not around, I have too much respect for her as an artiste, to just present a one-sided story of hers.” Vidya has a parametre for picking biopics. She smiles, “I only want to play real characters and do biopics of people who I love or connect with.” But there’s ‘nothing on the anvil’ now, she claims. “Right now, I haven’t been offered any more biopics.”

NOT THE ONLY ONE!

INDIRA GANDHI
Director Manish Gupta had offered Vidya the Indira Gandhi-biopic and she absolutely loved the script. But then, destiny had other plans. She reveals, “I am dying to do the Indira Gandhi-biopic. But there have been issues with the rights and the permission to making the film. Otherwise, there’s no point making it.”

M S SUBBULAKSHMI
Vidya was in talks for a movie on the life of late Bharat Ratna singer MS Subbulakshmi, which couldn’t take off because of legal trouble. She says, “I was doing a film on her life with Rajeev Menon, but that also fell through for some legal issues. That’s the problem. If I am going to put efforts into a biopic, unless the makers have the necessary clearances, I just don’t want to touch it. It’s a waste of effort and hard work.”

KAMALA DAS
This was another film that was announced and then, there were reports of a fallout between her and the makers. She asserts, “Kamala Das was one film I personally opted out of. There were things that happened. But let bygones be bygones.”

SUCHITRA SEN
While most of the biopics offered to her were either in Hindi or a bilingual (the Kamala Das biopic), Vidya was also approached for Suchitra Sen’s biopic to be made in Bengali. Vidya is comfortable with the language but had her reservations about the role. “I was offered the Suchitra Sen biopic but I didn’t take it up. I thought with Raima (Sen) around, it would be blasphemous for me to do it because no one looks more like Suchitra Sen or knows her better than Raima. Also, Raima is a friend — even though we have lost touch, she’s someone I’m extremely fond of. That’s why I said no to that,” Vidya reasons.