Vidya Balan used her trump card

Vidya Balan has been touted as a special talent ever since she joined the film industry. Of late she’s been busy with her “special” appearances in films, like in Rohan’s Sippy’s Dum Maro Dum and the dance number in Santosh Sivan’s Malyalam film Urumi she recently shot for. “It’s a special appearance song and not an item number as people are calling it,” Vidya sets the record straight at the onset. For an actor of her calibre, she probably doesn’t want to be associated with item numbers. Like the actor in her also probably feels disappointed by the snub at the recently announced National Awards, where cast members managed to bag trophies.

“I’d be lying if I say I didn’t feel the pinch,” Vidya admits. “Actually, more than me, people around me were surprised. I wasn’t even aware that the National Awards were being announced that day and was on the way to a shoot when I started getting messages saying, ‘You should’ve won it,’ ‘You deserved it’ and so on. So it did hurt, but not for long. I am happy that the film won awards because it’s my film after all. And I wish Balki had got awards too because he is one director who has the guts to push the envelope and deliver as well,” she says.

Vidya can pin her hopes on her next No One Killed Jessica that she’s finished shooting for and is said to have delivered an excellent performance. However, as there are talks of the Munnabhai sequel Vidya’s name in the titles isn’t a given. Does she find it hard to swallow the fact that the hero seems to be an automatic choice while the heroine can vary? “Well, a Charlie Chaplin film is about him and the other characters keep coming and going,” she draws a parallel. “The first film had Gracy Singh in it, and then I came in. I don’t know if I am going to be in the next film. If I am, great. Coz I’d love to be a part of it,” she enthuses.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra productions was once Vidya’s home ground. “Vinod and I haven’t met each other in a while because we’ve both been travelling a lot,” she explains. “We still have a strong bond but when we talk, we don’t get into the work space,” Vidya adds.

Vidya’s always maintained that she’s comfortable in her skin, but does she feel like going in for an image overhaul when she sees actresses like Deepika, Kareena, Priyanka all tall and slender, glamorous and sexy? “Not at all,” Vidya dismisses the notion. “Today more than ever I am accepting of myself the way I am, I am enjoying being myself. I’m in a happy place and I wouldn’t want any kind of trade back,” she says. “Besides people seem to like me the way I am because when I tried to be someone I was not, they rejected the idea,” she chuckles.

Talking of other actresses, Vidya seems to have becomes friends with No One Killed Jessica co-star Rani Mukherjee. Being pitted against another seasoned actress, wasn’t there any competition on the sets? “There’s no question of competition,” Vidya clarifies. “Rani is my favourite actress amongst my immediate seniors. We were meant to work a couple of times earlier but that didn’t happen, so I was excited about this film. I wouldn’t claim that we are best friends but there is a genuine fondness between us,” she says.

Would she call any industry people her friends? “I don’t get the definition of friendship here,” she says. “For me friendship is a deep bond, and most of my friends are from childhood or college,” Vidya adds realistically.

And what does Vidya think of love? Being an actress Vidya must meet many interesting men, so why is she still single? “Only God can answer that question,” she looks upwards. “I’ve stopped asking myself that. I do meet a lot of interesting men and I have been on a couple of dates but nothing concrete has materialised. Love hasn’t happened. Even if it’s just dating, I can’t date two or three people at the same time and keep my options open, I am a one-man woman in that sense. So I guess I have to wait and believe that God has reserved someone really special for me,” she concludes. That would be divine justice indeed, a special someone for the special one!