Vidya Balan was offered Kahaani by chance

When director Sujoy Ghosh met actor Vidya Balan for the first time, he wasn’t intending to make Kahaani with her. The two were interacting over another project. “I don’t think it’s fair to dwell on a project I’m not doing anymore. But he approached me with a really interesting story. After a couple of meetings, he narrated Kahaani’s story to me and Sujoy and I were sure that this would be it. And before we knew, the film had rolled,” recalls Vidya, who received three awards in January for her performance in The Dirty Picture (2011).

The actor shot the first schedule of the thriller-mystery nearly 18 months ago on the streets of Kolkata. “I play a six-month pregnant woman in search of her husband who has mysteriously gone missing. I shot for a month or two with a fake womb attached to my belly. And when I returned to Mumbai, my mother and sister welcomed me with big news. I was going to become maasi (aunt) to twins,” says Vidya, who claims to have taught her sister sitting and sleeping postures during pregnancy.

“It’s a funny co-incidence. My sister and I laugh about it even now because I was the one preaching her about what to eat, when she needs to sleep and how.”

Over the last three years, the actor has won accolades in continuity, starting with Paa (2009), followed by Ishqiya (2010) and The Dirty Picture. Will Kahaani be next? “I hope so!” exclaims Vidya. “My nephew and niece have been extremely lucky for me. Each time that I win a trophy, I show it to them and thank them for being my lucky mascots. They don’t understand anything. But they smile back and that is probably the biggest award I’d ever get.

As for Kahaani, the feedback so far has been exciting. But I’ve left the rest to god who’s there to give me all I deserve.”

‘Happier with films’
The Dirty Picture’s DVD was released recently in the city. Vidya recalls how the film’s producer Ekta Kapoor had co-incidentally discovered her years ago while producing TV shows. Vidya had played the character of a bespectacled girl who couldn’t hear properly on the TV show Hum Paanch before calling it quits.

Recently, when she lifted the Best Actor trophy for her ‘Dirty’ performance at the Zee Cine Awards in Macau, she recalled her connection with the soap queen and the network that had aired the show for several years.

“Today, I’m happier doing films,” she beams. “I don’t want to get back to the small screen, although I owe my entry into showbiz to it. I found the medium so taxing that I quit. With movies, you can still take breaks as per your desire. You don’t have such freedom on TV, although the show concepts today are far superior to what they used to be five years ago. So, if something exciting comes my way, I may consider returning. Never say never!”

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Vidya Balan riding high on her 'dirty' act with elan

Is it hard work or is it Lady Luck? Seems Vidya Balan has got a fair amount of both by her side these days. The actress started the year with the critically acclaimed No One Killed Jessica and ended it emphatically with The Dirty Picture.

Written off by critics after duds such as Kismet Konnection and Halla Bol, Vidya has turned the tables in her favour with back-to-back hits. She has even earned the tag of 'the most dependable actor'! TV czarina Ekta Kapoor went a step ahead and called her "The Khan" of Bollywood.

"Vidya has proved that she is the best. With her consistent hits (including Paa and Ishqiya ), she should add 'Khan' to her name like Vidya Balan Khan."

But, Vidya made it clear that she is not one of those who follow trends when she quipped: "All the Khans from now on should add Balan to their names."

Even Kareena Kapoor, not known for wasting kind words on her fellow actresses, couldn't help but gush about Vidya, the phenomenon. Reportedly, she has taken a cue from Vidya's 'dirty' act and wants to outdo Vidya in her forthcoming film Heroine.

And last but not the least, The Dirty Picture is finally releasing in Pakistan without major changes. The Pakistani censor board had earlier objected to its 'adult content'. Tusshar Kapoor, also a part of the film, tweeted the good news on Saturday.

But all's well that ends well. Reasons galore for Vidya to rejoice.

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Vidya Balan as a pregnant woman in Kahaani after The Dirty Picture

Mumbai, Dec 5 (TruthDive): A day before the release of Vidya Balan’s The Dirty Picture, the pictures of her next movie was released. We got to see another side of the actress in Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller, Kahaani.

After The Dirty Picture,Vidya Balan is now playing a pregnant woman in her next movie Kahaani. Unlike her sensuous character with oomph in The Dirty Picture, Vidya plays the role of a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband. Emraan Hashmi is doing the male role.

The film is scheduled to release in March 2012 and is reportedly partially inspired by the Hollywood action thriller Kill Bill starring Uma Thurman.

Kahaani is the story of a pregnant woman who is searching for her lost husband. Vidya Balan takes the role of a about a six months pregnant woman who comes down from London in search of her husband. The film has been shot in Kolkata at real locations and if the director is to be believed, this will be one of Vidya’s most memorable performances. The surprise package in Kahaani is a song sung by Amitabh Bachchan.

Director Sujoy Ghosh wrote the script of the film keeping Vidya in mind. “The moment I started writing it, I knew I was going to cast her,” he said.

Sujoy Ghosh even tweeted after the shooting of the film got over, “KAHAANI was shot in all real locations. No budget to build set. In Kolkata it’s totally impossible to shoot real but we did it:)”

Vidya Balan would always joke with her friends about how differently women walk when they are pregnant. Now, she is playing the same role and had also tried to copy the way they take deep breaths in between.

On the poster, Vidya’s character is portrayed as Goddess Durga. Not only does the poster have a connection to the Goddess Durga, we also have a heavily pregnant Vidya looking bewildered in the chaos.

The thriller is set to release on March 9, 2012.

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Rajat Arora turns lyricist for The Dirty Picture

Rajat Arora, who has written the script for Vidya Balan’s The Dirty Picture has also penned the lyrics of the songs in the film.

Arora always wanted to pursue a career as a lyrics writer. “It was very nice of Vishal-Shekhar to give me a chance to write the lyrics too. When I came to Mumbai I
wanted to write lyrics,” says Arora, who has also written the script of Taxi No9 2 11(2006), Chandni Chowk To China (2009) and Once Upon A Time in Mumbai (2010).

“Because I have written the scripts so writing lyrics was a natural progression as I knew the characters, their feelings and situations so well,” he adds.

The film also stars Tushar Kapoor, Emran Hasmi and Naseeruddin Shah.

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Vidya Balan advised to rest

Vidya Balan's sizzling outing in The Dirty Picture has not only grabbed a lot of eyeballs but has even taken a toll on the actress' health.

While Vidya was to celebrate Dussehra with great gusto as her film readies for its December 2 release, the actress instead landed in Mumbai's Lilavati Hospital on Friday.

According to sources, though she has now been discharged, she has been advised complete rest.

She has lately been maintaining a very tight schedule due to her ambitious upcoming film, The Dirty Picture in which she plays the South siren Silk Smitha.

The actress is said to have been kept under observation for three days and underwent several tests. The results indicated that her hemoglobin level was too low and she was put on drip, said the source.

Vidya has been following the doctors' orders and has reportedly postponed the last leg put work aside for sometime, the last few scenes for the film will have to wait.

With most of the shooting of film taking place in Hyderabad, sources say that Vidya's travel in and out of Mumbai over the past couple of months has taken a toll on the actress.

The makers of the film Milan Luthria and Ekta Kapoor, in the meantime, have said that they are would happily wait for her to recover.

A week of shooting remains for The Dirty Picture, after which post-production follows and both Ekta and Milan are confident the film is on track for its December release. Reportedly Vidya Balan has also been offered Force 2 opposite John Abraham, with whom she last worked with in Salaam-e-Ishq.

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Vidya raises the heat for The Dirty Picture

Vidya Balan loves getting into the skin of the character, but to essay Silk Smita in The Dirty Picture, she seems to be pushing her limits.

The actress, who was in Hyderabad recently for the shoot of an elaborate song sequence for the film, was down with flu. She, however, did not complain and continued shooting with co-actor Naseerudin Shah.

Says a source, "The song was being shot in a lotus pond and it was on a tight schedule. Filming had to be wrapped up within two to three days, as those were the only dates available.

It required Vidya to stay in the pond for over four to five hours during the sequence."

Adds the source, "Vidya started feeling ill on the first day itself as she was in water for so long. She developed high fever.

Though director Milan Luthria asked his leading lady to take a breather, she was keen that the shoot continue."

If shooting was stalled, the per day losses would have been huge for the producers and it would have also affected the crew who had been specially flown from Mumbai.

As a result Vidya did not want the filming to be affected.

During the Karnataka schedule, director Milan Luthria had challenged Vidya to address the gathered crowd dressed as Silk Smitha.

Unabashedly she walked up to the all-male onlookers and spoke to them like her character would.

Says a source, "Milan had a bet with Vidya that she would never be able to address the crowd without feeling awkward, but he lost the bet."

After the incident Milan thinks twice and warns the unit too, about placing bets with Balan.

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A touch of Silk!

Sure, it's a film about a sex bomb, but where does authenticity end and exploitation begin?
Have you seen the trailer promo of The Dirty Picture on YouTube? What was your first reaction… and your second?

My first was: Holy smoke, is that really Vidya Balan?

My second was: Okay, does this smell right? Why does it make me just a tad bit uncomfortable?

Let me explain. Vidya Balan, for long perceived as a typically conservative Tam-Brahm girl trying to navigate her way through the murky waters of Bollywood, was first slotted in a certain ‘all-Indian' niche, largely because of her looks and body language on screen. It was an image established by her demure debut in Parineeta.

Off-screen it was not just her body language, but to some degree, her dressing style that contributed to that image. Her clothing sense was routinely torn to shreds by the fashion police till she finally struck upon designer Sabyasachi and thereafter stuck largely to his elegant but hardly adventurous creations. Then came Ishqiya, in which she played a sexually manipulative abandoned wife who outsmarts two small-time criminals. This was a new, spicier Vidya and everyone applauded her acting as well as the shedding of her inhibitions. For quite some time, the Internet steamed up with discussions of that famous scene in which she sucks Arhsd Warsi's finger suggestively (actually, is there any other way?).

Ishqiya turned out to be a shot in the arm for Vidya, who had sent out a message to Bollywood's directors and producers that she was not above a bit of raunch — if the role was good enough.

Now she's taken on The Dirty Picture, a film about southern bombshell Silk Smitha and her often colourful, sometimes sordid life. And whoa, there's Vidya in the trailer, cavorting in a succession of daringly cut blouses that show off her cleavage (and much else), dancing in an Amrapali costume, flirting with Naseeruddin Shah, soaking in a bathtub, smoking away sensuously and ending with a Draupadi vastraharan-style scene. Oh yes, there was also a waterfall in there. Practically every trick in this genre has been tossed into that trailer.

If you haven't seen it, take a look at the poster and you can imagine the rest. Vidya doesn't ooze the oomph; she throws it in your face. Even if she doesn't have that dark, raw, inherently smouldering quality that was Smitha's essence.

So what makes me uncomfortable? Pretty much everything I've seen so far. I get the uneasy feeling that everything from the film's title to the poster to the trailer to the photographs released, are treading the fine line between artistic liberty and exploitation in the name of art. I'm not sure – yet and I'm trying to give the director the benefit of my doubt, but the feeling refuses to go away.

I have no problems with the cleavage itself (good for you, Vidya!) it's the marketing of it that worries me. The titillating poster design, with two men nuzzling the heroine with a suitably orgasmic expression, looks plain tacky to me. And the trailer is no better. Now, I wonder, what will director Milan Luthria's film be like?

A film about a sex bomb will obviously have a big dose of raunch and sleaze. But does it have to be sleazy itself? Where does authenticity end and exploitation begin? It's like obscenity — you can't define it, you just recognise it.

I can't help thinking back to a magazine photo shoot I did with Vidya soon after Parineeta. The photographer told her he wanted her glammed up and the stylist put her in a short dress. Though her legs were out of the frame, I remember her constantly pulling her dress down, her discomfort all too obvious.

And here she is now, flaunting her assets for The Dirty Picture. Of course, actors are required to get out of their comfort zone. It's how well they do it that matters. We were disturbed, not offended, by the nudity in Shekhar Kapur's Bandit Queen. Aishwarya Rai wore the skimpiest costumes she ever has in Dhoom 2 and carried it off. And who can forget Priyanka Chopra's sensational swimsuit in Dostana? Yes, yes, I can hear you… I know Silk Smitha's costumes are supposed to be tacky. But does the poster have to be tackier?

Perhaps I'm biased and perhaps The Dirty Picture will prove me wrong and I'll have to eat my prejudiced words. We'll just have to wait. All will be revealed (pun intended) when The Dirty Picture releases in December.

Meanwhile, Salman Khan, who doesn't believe in stepping outside his personal or professional comfort zone, has just notched up his second mega hit of the year with Bodyguard, which is heading for the Rs 100 crore plus category. Wanted, Dabangg, Ready... Bodyguard is one more Salman-fest — there is no other way to describe it, because story, screenplay, direction and the rest of it hardly seem to matter when Salman is bursting out of his shirt and the screen, playing, well, himself.

He is astonishingly clear about this: ‘I don't act, I play myself,' he likes to declare. Of course he is only half-right, because I do think he is a vastly underrated actor, but the core of what he is saying is that he only does what he is comfortable with on screen. And he does it in his own style. That's what's worked for him through all his blockbusters and that's what he is going to keep doing.

For instance, taking his shirt off comes easily and naturally to him — I've seen him do that as nonchalantly off the sets as on screen. That's why he does it with an almost tongue-in-cheek attitude.

Now, wonder what Salman Khan would have to say to Vidya Balan's new avatar. Somebody ask him, please!

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Vidya Balan’s lip-lock jinxed?

The much-touted lip-lock between Vidya Balan and Tusshar Kapoor is still yet to be shot for The Dirty Picture.

As one of the men who's close to Silk Smitha, the character that Vidya essays in the film, Tusshar shares a lip-lock with her onscreen. However, while the other scenes have been shot with the two of them, this is yet to be canned. It was supposed to have been shot more than a month back in Hyderabad where they shot most of the film. But a sudden dragonfly attack on the sets, put an end to the shoot.

The kissing scene was to be canned in Mumbai later and it looks like it's still hanging in limbo! Meanwhile, some people in Kollywood are not too sure Vidya can pull off the oomphy Silk Smitha role. It now remains to be seen what the reaction will be to Vidya's 'bold' scenes on-screen.

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