Richa Shukla (BOMBAY TIMES; December 11, 2019)

Vidya Balan, who was recently in Jaipur to speak at an event, talked at length about issues related to gender, body shaming, Indian cinema, and her choice of roles.

Over the years, the national award-winning actress has come to be known for breaking stereotypes and experimenting with roles. When asked about her experience in the Hindi film industry, considered by many as male-dominated, she replied, “I don’t care whether it’s a male-dominated industry or world. I believe the world is my oyster and I have the power to achieve my dreams. That’s the faith and belief that my family has instilled in me.”

She continued, “Honestly, I didn’t set out to change or break any rules or challenge stereotypes. I followed my gut feeling. In the second or third year of my career, I knew I did not want to do the kind of work I was doing. The moment I decided that, the kind of work I like doing began to show up. The universe literally responded to my desire. I took up those roles and those films, they worked out well, and one step led to the next.”

‘AFTER HEYY BABY AND KISMAT KONNECTION, I REALISED I’M NOT A TYPICAL HEROINE’
Vidya faced a lot of criticism for her choice of films in the early years of her career. But she has no regrets. “I keep referring to Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection. While the films did very well, I faced a lot of criticism. But I still think, if not for these films, I would not be here today, because that’s how I realised that I don’t fit into the mould of a typical heroine. I had to be true to myself and be authentic. What began to happen (after these films) is that roles started getting written for me, which I am very grateful for,” she said.

‘I GOT OBSESSED WITH ELEPHANTS WHILE ON A SHOOT... EVEN WANTED TO BUY ONE’
Narrating a funny anecdote, Vidya recalled how during the shoot of Bhool Bhulaiyaa, she became obsessed with elephants and even wanted to buy one. “I got obsessed with elephants. I was shooting at a heritage property near Jaipur for Bhool Bhulaiyaa. I would pass by the Amber Fort every day and feed the elephants walking by. Then one day I called up my parents and asked them, ‘Can we buy an elephant?’ And they jokingly said, ‘Ek kaafi nahi hai kya?’,” she said, adding, “But I was so adamant. Every day I would call my parents and ask them, ‘So what do you think?’ So they stopped taking my calls for a few days. Obviously, one cannot keep an elephant in an apartment in Mumbai.”

Then the actress shared another incident involving her sister. “My elder sister Priya has always been like a mother to me. I remember I had a crush on Priya’s first boyfriend. When I got to know about their relationship, I thought I will be the sacrificial goat and I will give up my love. I felt like I have done something big.”

‘WHEN I HEARD ABOUT THE RECENT RAPE CASES, I FELT LIKE CRYING’
Vidya also talked about the issue of body shaming. Advising the women attending the event to be happy in their skin, she said, “I keep saying that The Dirty Picture was life defining for me. I had to feel sexy in it. If I did not feel it, the audience won’t feel it. I ended up getting told that I looked the sexiest in that film. The Dirty Picture helped me realise that size has nothing to do with the way you feel about yourself. No one else has anything to do with the way you feel about yourself.”

Commenting on women facing sexual atrocities in this country, Vidya said, “Let’s not behave as if it is happening for the first time. It’s just that very few cases were reported a decade ago. When I heard about the recent rape cases, there was anger and hatred. I felt like crying. We need to make our law enforcement agencies more accountable, though it’s easier said than done.”

Vidya Balan is never afraid to display her vulnerable side – a reason why she’s a top notch actor
Anuradha Choudhary (TIMES LIFE; December 10, 2017)

From a one BHK in Chembur to a sprawling sea-facing apartment in Juhu. Does it seem surreal?
We recently sold our Chembur house and that was heartbreaking. I went there and cried. For the longest time we had kept that house. But the redevelopment seems to be taking forever. Unfortunately, the building is falling apart. I used to take a bus from Chembur to come to Prithvi theatre in Juhu for my summer workshop. I was 15 then. Looking back it seems symbolic. I’d get off at the bus stop, which is right outside my present house because the Prithvi workshops were conducted in a school in Juhu Koliwada, where Asha Parekh lives. Not once did it occur to me then that I should be living here. I was happy. I know people wish for bigger houses and better cars. I’m not one of those. Which is why until seven years ago, we lived in Chembur.

When was the first time you realised you wanted to act?
I keep saying it was Madhuri Dixit’s Ek do teen (Tezaab) but I guess it started before that. Those days, while I was still in school, they used to show regional language films on Doordarshan on Sunday afternoons. I remember watching Laxmi in a Tamil film, where she plays a lawyer. There was a huge scam in the South those days where because of the reservation policy, many Brahmins claimed to belong to the scheduled caste. Laxmi claims to belong to a scheduled caste in the film and gets caught. Then I remember seeing the Malayalam movie Elli Pattayam. The movie seemed slow with nothing happening. My sister Priya painstakingly explained to me the difference between art and commercial movies then. She also explained what acting was. How it’s about your ability to express feelings and how your eyes are the most important tools while acting. I soaked in all this at the age of 11. And then there was no looking back.

When was the first time you realized you were beautiful?
Thank you for saying that but while growing up a lot of people would tell me, ‘You’ve got such a pretty face, why don’t you lose weight? It always came with the caveat of ‘why don’t you lose weight?’ I was a plump child. During my teens I was fat. But at home there were no restrictions on food. My father only wanted us to eat well. But I guess, my mother was a bit worried. As a kid she would take me for walks. She’d trick me and take me to Chembur station for grocery shopping. She’d say we’ll take a rickshaw back home. But she’d make me walk both ways. And I’d sit on the road crying, refusing to walk.

But while acting and thank God for that, I realised that beauty is as beauty does. There I wouldn’t bother about profiles. But if I had to pose for a picture or if I had to do a photo shoot or an ad film, I’d tell them to shoot me from the left.

People do call you beautiful…
Now I believe it. There was this phase when things went wrong with Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection… I’ll always be grateful to all those movies because they brought that clarity. Otherwise, I’d have failed miserably. After those movies, I ended up doing Ishqiya, Paa and No One Killed Jessica. I simply responded to my instinct. The past few years have not been great professionally because my films have not worked. But I’m in a happy space. I won’t have it any other way. I feel grateful.

Go on…
I’m not saying that I didn’t go through the angst and analysis about why they didn’t work. What was I doing differently? I kept wondering about all the things that were told to me about marriage… that it hampers your professional life... I wondered, maybe, I had made a professional mistake by getting married. However, through it all, I always knew I wanted to be with this man (Siddharth Roy Kapur).

Did you share these thoughts with Siddharth?
Yeah, of course I told him. Not that marriage was a mistake but maybe it was true that married actresses don’t do well. And he’d keep telling me it’s not whether you’re married or not married; it’s about how the films turn out. I’d tell him but I’d made the right choices. Over time, I arrived at the understanding on my own that it’s not about the right choices. Sometimes you like the idea but the script doesn’t turn out as well and sometimes even a good script does not translate into a good film. So many variables go into making a film. So when it doesn’t work you can’t look just for one reason. Around that time Kareena’s (Kapoor Khan) Singham Returns released and it was a blockbuster. So I realised it was not about being married at all. Sometimes you just look for things to blame to make sense of your disappointments. But I was meant to go through this so that I don’t ever question my decision to marry or my choices again.

Historically, married actresses have always worked. There was Shobhna Samarth, Sharmila Tagore, Raakhee, Hema Malini, Kajol, Sridevi...
Yeah true. There was a time when actresses were women. So it was okay to be married. Then the heroine became a girl. When I joined I was already a woman. People kept telling me ‘your shelf life will be short; you have to do girly roles’. Which is why I attempted a movie like Kismat Konnection. But it flopped for me. Because I was never a girl. I was born a woman. But all that is behind me now. I’m just happy being an actor.

So are you a better wife or actress?
(Laughs) Better actress.

Would you recommend marriage to everyone?
No. It’s all about the person actually. You must find a person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life. It’s a big decision. If you find the person, great. But if you don’t, it’s not the end of the world. I’m not the kind who will say you must try marriage.

Does being financially dependent make a difference in the marriage?
It definitely does. I keep telling this to the girl who works for me that whatever you earn, you have to keep aside something for yourself. That security is something else. I tell her do things for others but even if it’s just Rs 500, save it for yourself. Money is power. It gives you the strength to take right decisions.

Madhureeta Mukherjee (BOMBAY TIMES; November 15, 2017)

The one thing you can’t miss about Vidya Balan is her fullthrottled laughter. It comes from the heart and that’s what makes you laugh along. It’s just like the way she plays her roles, with abandon. Not a shade of compromise. Whether she’s playing Silk or Sulu, she unleashes herself on screen fearlessly, letting her characters live long after the movie is over. With a spring in her steps, she talks about her upcoming Tumhari Sulu, directed by Suresh Triveni. Over a long chat and sips of nariyal paani, she tells us about her past, the voice women currently need to have in society and how to deal with scums at work. Read on...

Lately, the characters that you have portrayed onscreen were deep, intense, and even melodramatic (Begum Jaan, Kahaani 2, Te3n). After long, we will see you play a role that’s cheerful and vivacious Sometimes, it is nice to play a character that is closer to you in reality, isn’t it?
When Suresh (Triveni, director) narrated the story to me, I could see every character come alive. I could see the whole film in front of me. Usually I deliberate over scripts; this one was an instant ‘Yes’! Imagine hearing a one-line narration of a story, where a homemaker lands herself a job as a late night RJ. It is such an interesting visual — here is this woman doing household chores all day and turning into an RJ by night… and sexily saying, ‘Hello!’ You don’t reconsile these changes together. The script made me happy; it was pulsating with life. I like to believe that I am a happy person but after a certain age (and for me, post films like Bobby Jasoos and Hamari Adhuri Kahani, I’ve observed that people can’t see the more humorous side of you, unless you are being made fun of. However, new-age filmmakers are not limit ed in their thinking.

Women are stereotyped far than men. For instance, women often get to hear comments like ‘Oh, you don’t look married’ or ‘You don’t look like a mom’. Women are supposed to fit into a certain ‘type’ depending on their age, their relationship status and the phase of life that they are in. Of course, we are gradually breaking those stereotypes…
Yes, at this point, even in cinema, a lot of stereotypes are being broken. For instance, hats off to Ayushmann Khurrana for accepting a role like the one in Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, in a country where people don’t talk about such issues even with their partners. Fortunately, Suresh doesn’t associate interesting and exciting only with young people. As a woman, I feel as exciting, desirable and sexy as I did years ago.

That has not changed with time. Age, is a huge stereotype in our society. Someone recently asked me whether I had got any ‘jobs’ done. She said, ‘Don’t you think that it is important for a female actor to keep looking young?’ I told her that why should I want to age myself down, as long as I am feeling good and looking good? At 38, I am playing a role that is suitable to my age. Five years ago, I didn’t imagine that I would do the kind of work that I am doing today. I am playing my age onscreen, because someone has written that role for me. I am hoping that with time, the roles that I do also become as exiting and grow in that sense. I am not judging anyone who has got jobs done. If it works for them, it is great. I am comfortable being my age and looking my age on screen. Even if I wanted to, I could never play a 20-year-old (laughs).

Don’t you think that in urban India, the stereotypical concept of the housewife has also undergone a change to some extent? The preferred and better term (rightly so) is homemaker…
I have a huge problem with this term ‘housewife’. What is the meaning of housewife? Does it mean she is a wife who sits at home? Most often, they feel undervalued, because we undervalue them. Women also feel that they don’t have an identity outside of their husband. With Tumhari Sulu, we have toppled that entire stereotype. So what if Sulu is wearing a sari and doing household chores, she is a woman who has this zest for life. If that is the life which a woman wants, it is her choice, why should we judge her for it?

You come from a middle-class family and you have seen a fairly different life before you became a movie star. Would you say that the value system you imbibed from your earlier days still has a strong influence on you?
Yes, I come from a middle class family and there were times when we didn’t have as much, but I never felt the lack of it. We were happy with what we had and it was a completely joyous childhood. Often, people ask me if I always wanted to live by the beach, and my answer is — No! I never even thought of moving out of my childhood house in Chembur. I never thought of driving fancy cars and living in a big house. All I knew was that I wanted to be an actor; I didn’t think of what else came with it. I guess that is my upbringing. I was taught not to designate a (material) value to everything… ki itna ho toh achha hai. We were told, ‘Let it happen, maybe you will get more than you can imagine.’ That is exactly what has happened and I am grateful for it. My sister and I shared the load of the housework (like cleaning and sweeping) with my mom on days when the domestic help didn’t turn up. I remember, one of my teachers in the fourth grade telling me that you should always appreciate your mother for what she does, especially when she is at home. We often take our moms for granted and think that this is what she is meant to do. I have heard so many people say this about women, ‘Din bhar toh ghar pe baithi rehti hai’. What does baithi rehti hai mean? Even women say that about themselves, ‘Ki main toh sirf housewife hoon.' I tell them, 'sirf housewife hoon ka kya matlab hai?' They get this feeling that what they do for the house has no value.

Recently, after the Harvey Weinstein case made headlines, there has been an outpour by women on social media. The campaign #MeToo caught on and women started talking about their personal experiences that have scarred them. It is just a small step and it goes to show how uncomfortable we still are while talking about these issues.
Yes, it’s because women have always been told that, ‘It’s your fault’. Women are told not to wear short skirts and go out. And if we do, we are told, agar kissi ne haath lagaya, toh jaake mat bolna. We are told that we are the temptresses and we have provoked the men. There have been instances where even in rape cases, the woman has been blamed. Often, when a marriage doesn’t work, the tendency is to question the woman. Of course, today things are changing. I know that in a lot of cases, families say things like, ‘She was not adjusting enough. She was more focused on her career’. Talking about this case (Weinstein), imagine this happening in Hollywood, where you would think that with the kind of success and power they have, the women wouldn’t keep quiet. If someone propositioned me, I would kick him where it hurts. I have never had that experience, but I will admit that I have always been on the cautious side. If I ever feel that someone is not giving me that comfortable vibe, I walk away from there. Coming from a family that had no film connections, I was always scared. Initially, when I had to audition for advertisements, my mom would accompany me. Later, when I started doing films, she realised that it’s about how you handle yourself and by then, I had a team with me (make-up and hair staff), so I felt comfortable. In the beginning, I was always wary; in fact, I would never socialize with people or make friends at work. I think it stemmed from the fear that maybe if you are too friendly, people would misconstrue it. You don’t want to be in a situation where you think that a man propositioned you because you were over-friendly or over-familiar. I remember what had happened with John Abraham and me. I would keep laughing a lot with him, and we got along very well. Eventually, everyone thought that we were having an affair. So, on set I am friendly, but beyond that I still don’t socialise much.

But you have dropped your guard a little, and over the years, you have made friends in the industry. You are seen at B-Town parties along with your hubby, Siddharth Roy Kapur…
Now, I am a little better, but it has taken me so many years as I was always on the guard. I was always looking behind my shoulder. Sometimes, you might think that a person likes you, but because you have heard all sorts of stories, you are wondering if he is out to exploit you. I know that now no will take those chances with me; hence, I’m more comfortable. I completely understand the insecurity of girls who want to work here. Fortunately, my survival was taken care of and I never had to think of giving up my dream and going back to where I came from, if I didn’t get a pay cheque every month. That’s a privilege. I have seen cases where people have behaved absolutely well with me, and then behaved nastily with other girls. I tell those girls that don’t keep quiet, usko suna do. If you don’t want to make it a big issue, at least usko bol do ki he is scum, and that you don’t want this kind of work. I am aware that when it comes to speaking up, there is always a fear lurking that agar naam kharaab ho gaya, then people will look at you as a troublemaker and they wouldn’t want to work with you. We have heard of instances where married superstars have had affairs with actresses and then the actresses have gone out of work, because the rest of the industry shuns them. I remember telling someone down South while working on my first film that I don’t need the money, I am happy to work for free, but I will work on my own terms.

Exactly, you have set your own rules in the industry, whether it is the roles you pick, who you choose to work with, the way you style yourself — all of it. Isn’t that tougher, as you have no one to blame for your failure or success? In a sense, you are on your own.
Yes, and I am fine with it. I feel very proud of the fact that I have done it without any one person furthering my career, or having to depend on anyone. I am grateful for the opportunities and the people that came into my life, as each of us is a medium or instrument in another’s life. I’ve seen success and failure, but it’s my passion for what I do and my faith in myself that has brought me so far.

Even in your weakest moment, say after a film didn’t fare well, did you ever think, ‘I wish I had done a film with a superstar, instead’?
No! I have never regretted my choices or hoped that I had gone about my career differently. I evaluated my choices and asked myself some questions, but I never felt that I should have taken any other route. There are lots of benefits of doing the kind of films that others do and probably their success is that much larger, but I am happy where I am.

One role that changed that way you looked at your career?
Films like Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection. These films did well, but I wasn’t good in them, I was a source of embarrassment.

Tumhari Sulu is a light-hearted film, but have you ever thought of doing an all-out, madcap comedy?
I don’t mind doing a madcap comedy, as long as I have enough to do in it. In Tumhari Sulu, I got to do comedy. In Shaadi Ke Side Effects, the comedy was more driven by Farhan Akhtar’s character. There is rarely enough for female actors in terms of comedy, as we are only being reactors in such movies.

Vidya Balan says she has emerged stronger from body image battles
Rukmini Chopra (DNA; May 14, 2015)


You play a victim of domestic abuse in Hamari Adhuri Kahani. What challenges did you face while playing such a character?
To be very honest, for the very first time, this was one role that didn’t emotionally drain me and credit goes to my director Mohit Suri for that. He used to give me that time and space, after performing intense scenes, because he knew I needed it to come out of my character. I never had to ask him for the same because it was already being done. He isn’t the one who likes to discuss a scene in detail, that’s his style. He used to discuss scenes to reassure me and I knew that. Coming to the domestic abuse part, I don’t look it at that way. In the film, Rajkummar Rao (Vidya’s husband in the film) sees me as his property that can be used any way that he likes, so it’s more about that.

You have worked with Emraan Hashmi before in The Dirty Picture and Ghanchakkar, and now, HAK. How different was it this time around?
With Emraan, now that I have worked with him and know him, there are no walls between us. We are very transparent with each other and know how to work with one another which is why I told Mohit that he (Emraan) and I didn’t need to meet each other before hand to discuss scenes because we already knew how to go about it. In fact, I wanted to meet Rajkummar, as I hadn’t worked with him before. So with Emraan, there’s no awkwardness at all.

There’s a scene in the trailer where Rajkummar slaps you hard. Did he actually do that?
Yes, yes, he did. In fact, I myself told him to just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? I would slap him back, that’s all (Laughs). And he used to keep calling me Vidya ma’am for the longest time. I told him to start calling me Vidya, which he has finally started doing!

Being comfortable in your skin, you’ve always been an inspiration. But, at times, your weight became a heated topic of discusssion. Comment.
There was a time when I used to be on a liquid diet because I had heard that one can lose weight that way. I started puking and falling ill. My mother saw this and finally hammered some sense into me. People come up to me and talk to me about my weight. In fact, just today, someone at lunch told me “You are so thin. On-screen, you don’t look this thin.” I excused myself, came back to my room and had lunch. I don’t understand why someone has to tell you, “You look thin or fat.” When people tell me I’ve lost weight, I don’t take it as a compliment. Now, I don’t even respond to it. I think we have started really obsessing over the way we look. I’m not asking anyone to NOT exercise. You should stay fit.

Do you think actresses have to worry about their weight a lot more than actors do?
Oh very much so. When I was doing Kismat Konnection with Shahid (Kapoor), they asked me to lose weight so that I could match his appearance. The thing that struck me was, they never asked him to change his look, bulk up or something to match my look.

If you had hits like The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, you also had films like Bobby Jasoos and Ghanchakkar. How do you deal with failure?
I was devastated because I had seven successful films before that, including The Dirty Picture, there was No One Killed Jessica and others. I didn’t understand why this was happening because all my films were doing well, people were praising me and suddenly, it stopped. I pray a lot generally and that point I even stopped praying. But during that time, my family really helped me. Talking to my family helped me a great deal and my sister and brother-in-law were there for me as well.