Vidya Balan wants to “de-age” with fun films

At the Kolkata International Film Festival, actor Vidya Balan spoke about wanting to explore the comedy genre

On a blockbuster Friday, Vidya Balan, perhaps the most popular non-Bengali actress in Kolkata, charmed the cineastes at the ongoing Kolkata International Film Festival. Basking in the success of horror comedy Bhool Bhulaiyya 3, Vidya Balan told The Hindu, “As I age physically, I want to de-age mentally.”

The actor who made a name for herself by essaying a series of deeply conflicted characters now wants to play some “fun” roles. “Female-led cinema has seen success in the last few years. Now, it is time to diversify. Comedy is one genre where women are under-represented in lead roles,” said Vidya Balan. Post-COVID, she wanted to watch light stuff and be part of comedies. Growing up, she said, she wanted to be a combination of Shabana Azmi and Sridevi and stay as versatile as her inspirations. She said she didn’t hold herself back even in Instagram reels. “As an actor, I never allowed vanity to come in the way of a performance.”

She said she had always celebrated her body, and as she was undergoing body transformation, she put out the different stages in the public domain. “It was a health issue that led me to take this road, but now it has made me a candidate to play characters demanding a lighter body type.” She refused that the urge for comedies was related to a doctor’s prescription. “The present stage,” she added, “can also change,” but she was glad that she never allowed size to hold her back from owning herself and living her dream.

On her equation as an actor with her producer husband Siddharth Roy Kapoor, Vidya Balan said they discussed each other’s work but didn’t encroach upon each other’s territory. “I am not keen on turning a producer. I feel people should continue doing what they know best. The urge to do too many things is the cause of increasing mediocrity around us,” she said.

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Earlier in her session with filmmaker and cultural commentator Sangeeta Dutta, Vidya Balan, who loves to call herself “probashi Bengali ”, thanked the people of the State for giving her so much love. Returning to the KIFF after 20 years to pay tribute to Goutam Haldar, who gave the actor her first role in Bhalo Theko, Vidya Balan remembered how the noted director, who passed away last year, explained the nuances of Bangla to her. “He would call me Bidda, and in my first shot with the great Soumitra Chatterjee, I could not get my Bangla right.”

Over the years, her fluency in Bengali has remarkably improved, and she went on to play strong Bengali characters in Parineeta, Kahani, Te3n, and Begum Jaan. Remembering the casting for Parineeta, Vidya Balan said, “Pradeep Sarkar saw Parineeta in me, but producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra was not ready to put his money on a Chembur girl to play Sarat Chandra Chatterjee’s iconic character. “I had to undergo several auditions and look tests to clinch the part.” She mentioned that her popular character Monjulika in Bhool Bhulaiyya was also a Bengali, and “Ami Manjulika” has become a part of her introduction.