Vidya Balan spoke to K Bhardwaj about life after marriage and the global popularity of Indian cinema
Guess who’s Bollywood’s popular marriage counsellor at presentIJ It’s Vidya Balan, who has assumed the role of the counsellor at various promotional events and television appearances. The actress who is promoting her forthcoming film Shaadi Ke Side Effects is not even reluctant to share her own experiences as a wife, when she is asked several questions around marriage. “Actually problem starts after a baby is born. It is the mother who would be sacrificing everything for the sake of child but the guy, who is an equally responsible parent, would be absolutely clueless. He wouldn’t even know what the lady in house is going through,” said Balan as she chatted with us on the subject of wedding. But as far as her real life is concerned, she is yet to acknowledge any ‘change’. And this surprises her more than us. She expected occasional nok-jhok with her husband, Sidharth Roy Kapur, but that didn’t happen. “It’s been 14 months we are together and there hasn’t been any dispute. I was like, ab hoga ab hoga..par kuch nahi hua,” said the actor who is aggressively promoting her latest flick. Script and characters are the most enticing part of Shaadi Ke Side Effects. “The film is a regular story of any urban couple who would have such experiences. It’s not about the actors but the concept and circumstances which we all have in life. And my marriage has nothing to do with the movie because I started the shooting two months after getting married,” she said.
Vidya finds her co-star Farhan Akhtar subtle yet full of humour. “He is hilarious. He underplays his character which leaves lasting impression. Saket Chaudhary (director) gave us an open field and asked us to play our own self. We kept improvising,” she said.
Balan has been part of successful movies like The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, which promoted the making of more women-centric films in the industry. “The success of The Dirty Picture encouraged filmmakers to invest in more heroine-dominated films. They now have faith in actresses that they can also rake in handsome returns at the box office,” she said. But is she competitiveIJ “No, I don’t keep track of what my contemporaries are doing. I always focus on my work, what’s coming next to me. I take each film as my first assignment. If I take pressure, I would not be able to enjoy my work,” she said.
last year, the actor was part of the jury of 66th Cannes Film Festival. She is proud that India is churning out some of the finest movies. “When I was watching movies during Cannes, I realised that we are doing brilliant work. It is just that the world is still not exposed to them. They still associate Indian films with dance and music. Once there is acceptability, they will respect the versatility of our cinema,” she commented.
Since 2008, Balan has cut down heavily on her work. She attributes this to her dedication. “I love to work less. I can only concentrate on one film at a time. I get fully absorbed even before it gets started,” she said. But in coming days, she may end up doing more than one film a year. “There is Bobby Jasoos after this and one more film,” she shared. With so many commitments ahead, the actor said she has no personal goals this year which also deflates rumours about her being pregnant.