Actor Vidya Balan opens up on breaking stereotypes through her many outings, the need for smart budgeting in women-centric films, sexual harassment in the industry and the need for humour in our lives. By Rinku Ghosh
Actor Vidya Balan is in a secure and comfortable place. That would be an easy summation to make of the forever content actor as she does a round of interviews with a gusto and without a crib. looking pretty in a pink sari, silver danglers framing her happy face. Not yielding to pressure of brand endorsements or a media-friendly look. A radiant confidence and self-assured smile that’s not put on for a show but is as good as it gets. But what many wouldn’t stop to think is the sheer tenacity and honesty with which she has made her characters stand out on screen and made the audience invest their emotions in each. Box office success or not, each of Vidya’s characters has been human enough to stay with us. Convincingly so. And it is this recall that has made it possible for filmmakers to cast her in stories which have pushed the envelope not only in terms of humanising a protagonist beyond the gender but also think of the viability of a woman as a star on her own terms who could turn the trade winds. Vidya, an outsider, had to craft her space, coalescing her take on things with whatever material came along her way. From Parineeta to Bhool Bhulaiya, and then from Kahaani to Ishqiyaa, Paa and Dirty Picture, Vidya has proved that beyond her acting chops, she is as good as the boys. Now with her latest take as a middle-class housewife, who breezes through life with a positive and can-do spirit, and who takes on a job of a late-night radio jockey mouthing suggestive lines, she turns the everydayness of a householder from a boring cookie to a high consumable snack. Sulu is, in her words, the most realistic character that she has played in a long long time. S/hero she has been, either as a larger than life character, sometimes an icon, sometimes the villainess, sometimes the rebel. But with Tumhari Sulu, Vidya has posited herself as one of the many women who would watch her film and become one with them. That’s the perfection she is seeking with this film, which throws us back to the feel-good warmth of filmmaker Hrishikesh Mukherjee.
We are told that the very loveable Sulu was written for you specifically. How did the project come aboutIJ
Quite by chance. My sister’s husband Kedar Nene spoke to me about director and adman Suresh Triveni. They had just done a film together. He told me that Triveni wanted to pitch an idea to me and suggested that working with him would be a truly enjoyable experience for me as an artiste. I trust Nene’s creative instincts immensely. I met Triveni and he narrated an idea which I liked. I asked him to develop it, which he did and came back to narrate it to me. But he was not too happy with the way the script turned out and narrated another idea instead. He said, “Imagine a housewife who is happy being one and gets a job of a late night RJ. You see her mopping, cleaning and taking care of the family by day. But at night she is an RJ, naughty and bold, allowing her to become somebody she is not.” The idea sounded really fun and I asked him to develop it. When it was finally narrated to me, I felt that it’s one of the best scripts that I had heard in a long time. I knew then and there that the film would play out beautifully.
What were your references for the character of SuluIJ
I took the reference from my childhood, my mother to be more precise. She would do all the chores and housework with passion and still be indefatigable about trying out new things or chilling out. I am a hands-on person at home and a cleanliness freak myself. I do my own stuff when not shooting. My aunts and other women relatives were a merry bunch too, who seemed ready to take on any challenges that life threw at them. It was a happy childhood and modest in terms of lifestyle. I had a middle-class upbringing but we were content and that’s where Sulu came from. The women of my childhood had dreams and aspirations but it’s not like they were unhappy.
Sulu is happy doing household chores, taking care of her kids, sending her husband to work and even has a fulfilling relationship with her husband; their romance is alive even after 12 years. I have seen this woman in my mother, aunt and relatives. She breaks the stereotype that all middle-class women are trying to break free and desperately trying to prove themselves. Sulu is not trying to break free but doing well within her own ambit and availing the little joys of life. That’s so important to realise in today’s chase.
At the same time, Sulu romances life and wants to try everything out. Variety is her spice of life. She is an average radio listener who feels a sense of achievement when she wins a contest and becomes a late night RJ. It suits her purpose as it does not unsettle her daily rhythms and schedules. She works around her life but doesn’t destabilise it.
In essence what we are saying is that you don’t have to be one kind of woman to be happy. You can choose to be a homemaker and be content with that. You can stay at home and work from there if that’s what you want to do. Sulu was happy before and even after landing a job. She embodies true women empowerment. It’s not that there is a lack of choices or that the job is forced upon her. Sulu wants to do the job for a new experience and not to make a living. The money will give her happiness and a sense of achievement but the primary purpose is to explore life’s many opportunities.
Because her unconventional job is of her own free will, Sulu brings her brand of madness and a tongue-in-cheek humour when she speaks sensuously to her listeners. One of her listeners seeks her telephone number and she quickly replies, “100.”
She enjoys being a RJ, it’s her first ever job and will do it the way she wants. She laughs at herself and the world. She banters with her husband and wants to live life to the fullest because of which she won’t let go off any opportunity (including the opportunity to do a job in which she has no experience). The tagline Main Kar Sakti Hun proves to be true as she gets the job and does well at it.
Would you, therefore, agree that the time has come for mainstream cinema to accept everyday Indian women as the pivot of a storyIJ That they do not always need to be lionised like historical characters of Padmavati or laxmi Bai or be the avenging angel claiming her spaceIJ
It’s interesting that women-centric cinema is moving towards representing all kinds of women and realistic ones at that. Women protagonists don’t have to be victimised or lionised. In that sense, there has been a growth trajectory when it comes to portrayal of women in Hindi cinema. Initially, the woman had to be almost like a male counterpart to grab eyeballs. So, one would only tell stories of valour, courage and larger-than-life drama. There would be tales of dacoit queens and historicals. Then there were crusaders, rightfully staking claim for an equal space. Now the woman is gradually becoming human from superhuman and completely identifying herself with the audience. Be it her frailties, oddities, quirkiness and in this case, humour, women are being shown as they are. And with Sulu, you get the celebratory aspect of women, that they can be light-hearted and fun. Till the time I did Ishqiyaa, where the woman is wily enough to get two men to do her bidding, the protagonist had to be one-up and command the situation. In rather a short time since then, it’s everyday women like a Bobby Jasoos or Sulu who have changed the discourse. They are not proving anything to men or society, they are proving something to themselves. And that easy acceptance is a big leap in cinematic terms.
Also there is space for a return to the feel-good genre of filmmaking, helmed by filmmakers like Hrishikesh Mukherjee or Basu Chatterjee. With so much stress and angst in our life, they would watch light-hearted stuff like Golmaal Again or a very relatable Shubh Mangal Savdhaan.
Still women tend to be stereotyped in big-budget films. Would a Tumhari Sulu ever get scaleIJ
Must admit that smart budgeting matters in women-centric cinema. The imaging of women in films is a work in progress and we need to be very practical about it. If we don’t keep smart budgets, the little progress that our kind of films is making will slide back. Budget doesn’t matter, it’s about telling good stories. This is why I became an actor. I have never felt that I would need big budgets to tell a story. Right now, I feel excited and rooted. Once these films do well and recover costs, we can garner a larger audience and therefore get a bigger budget. In the end, I have always said that the film industry is a microcosm, what we see around gets reflected in our industry too (progressive roles for women).
Established male actors shy away from playing a lead in women-centric films but that was not the case with filmmaker and theatreperson Manav Kaul. How was it sharing screen space with himIJ
He was a delight to work with, we got along really well. It’s crucial to have a trust factor as actors but I have not shared this kind of transparency with another actor before. There was some connection. I would go back home and tell Sidharth that I have not felt this comfortable before with a co-star on a film set.
Will you do theatre nowIJ
Oh, no no. As an actor I think I still need the security of retakes.
Having broken stereotypes, what’s next for youIJ
Enact stories and experiment. I came into the film industry at the age of 26. Now I am a happy 38-year-old woman. I have been married for five years. I am not apologetic about my age and I know there will always be some work for me in whichever age I am. I have never tried to act like a teenager. I have my space.
Sexual harassment in the film industry is now up for public discussion and consumption. What is your take on the issue and its prevalence in our film industryIJ
The ongoing dialogue about sexual harassment is crucial as it’s prevalent across the globe. It’s just that the film industry is more vulnerable to it. When one sees successful actresses come out and say that they were molested by Harvey Weinstein or someone else, it’s disturbing. Disturbing because they have felt the need to keep quiet even after having successful careers or being in powerful positions. Had the story of abuse not appeared in the Press and become a talking point, they would have kept quiet. I feel it’s fantastic that people are talking about it and not shaming people yet. This discourse is vital so that we can bring an exploitative practice of power to an end in an industry where only talent should gain precedence. When we see such things happening in Hollywood, I feel the Hindi film industry is still a shade better. Not that I am discounting the abuses or the casting couch but in the end people respect you for what you have achieved, you get to dictate terms a lot and people are not going to mess around.
Fortunately, I have never been propositioned or spoken to in a manner that made me feel uncomfortable. I have run away from places where I felt uncomfortable but then that was my defence mechanism. I was cautious that my survival doesn’t get impacted, it doesn’t make my career shortlived. If something happened, it would scare me and my family so I would rather run away from the opportunity. Even if some people are in a vulnerable position, that doesn’t give anyone the right to exploit them.
Your take on the Hritik-Kangana spat and it taking up precious airtime in the media....
I would like to say that this is a matter between two mature adults. Nobody knows the truth, so they should not judge it. But let me clarify that this issue is not about a feminist debate. People may ride a pillion in the heat of the moment but this is not about feminism.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
