The much talked Bollywood film of the year No One Killed Jessica had a grand premiere in presence of some big names of the industry. However, Vidya had a special guest, her son megastar Amitabh Bachchan. She could not miss inviting Big B, who played her son in Paa.

Amitabh also acknowledged the invitation posting about it in his blog. He wrote that Vidya called over the Bachchan family for the premiere of her strong film based on Jessica Lal murder case, which involved the son of a well known and powerful politician.

Vidya’s performance in the movie is liked by Big B and said that she has been graceful as always and the performances have justified the story and title of the film.

Big B was also elated to meet Rani Mukerji after a long time. The actress was once very close the Bachchan family before Abhishek got married to Aishwarya. The megastar also expressed his happiness over meeting Rani saying that he is very happy to see her after a long gap. Rani is also playing an important role in the movie.

Mr. Bachchan offered his best wishes to the film and its team. We hope Big B’s wish works for the film and Rani, who will be seen in a quite different role in this film, which is releasing tomorrow.

Vidya Balan will be soon seen with a baby bump in a forthcoming film, ‘Kahaani’. The film directed by Sujoy Ghosh has Vidya Balan playing the role of a pregnant woman. The most interesting part is that Vidya will be seen with the bump not just in a scene or two but throughout the film. The film is about a journey of a lady who is six months pregnant and who reaches Kolkata searching for her husband. Known to be a perfectionist, Vidya is known to live the character she plays on screen. So sporting a baby bump and being comfortable with the look is all a part of the professional regime that the actress follows. She has earlier played mother to a baby in Sajid Khan’s ‘Heyy Baby’.

Director Sujoy Ghosh, is full of praises for the gifted actress for carrying off the role so effortlessly. He said that he had written the script with Vidya in mind and none other than Vidya could have portrayed the character so well. “It’s the story of a woman who’s six months pregnant and her journey. I had written the script keeping Vidya in mind. I wouldn’t have made the film without her. For me she’s a perfectionist who has beautifully brought the character alive,” said the director.

Vidya Balan has another interesting film coming up, ‘No one Killed Jessica’, based on the real life killing of Jessica Lal, where she plays a lawyer and co-stars with Rani Mukerji. The beautiful actress made her debut in Bollywood with the film ‘Parineeta’ by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. She shot into limelight with her maiden performance and made everyone take note of her. There has been no looking back ever since.

She is a powerhouse of talent who stormed onto the Bollywood scene with Parineeta. She later followed it up with some brilliant performances in films such as Lage Raho Munnabhai, Guru, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Paa and Ishqiya. She is none other than Vidya Balan.

Vidya is all excited about her forthcoming film No One Killed Jessica where she plays the role of Jessica Lal’s sister Sabrina. As the film readies itself for a gala release this week, we give you a chance to have a live video chat with Vidya Balan on Thursday, Jan 6, at 1500 hrs IST. Don’t miss!

Actor Vidya Balan brought in her birthday and the New Year with parents and close friends at her new Khar home. Though Balan had bought her Khar house a year ago, she never had the opportunity to spend time there for a long duration due to hectic shooting schedules. First, she was busy shooting
for Sujoy Ghosh’s film Kahani in Kolkata, and once she got back, she was tied up with the promotions of Rajkumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, which releases on January 7 and also stars Rani Mukherji.
No One Killed Jessica sees Mukherji playing a crime reporter, while Vidya Balan essays the role of Jessica’s sister Sabrina and focuses on the high-profile Jessica Lal case and its aftermath.

So to make up for all the time lost, Balan has took December 31 and January 1 off and spent some quiet time with her folks and friends in her new abode.

Whenever you see Vidya Balan perform, you tend to believe that she does nothing by the book. Five years on, Vidya’s star has risen yet further, and it is a mark of how untouched she is – how real, if you like – that nothing has changed. Whatever it was, those formative experiences served her well in her chosen career as an actress. Those murky corners where pain, discord and ambiguity are rife have always attracted Vidya, and it’s really the truth if I may exaggerate, that Balan is swallowed by Bollywood and it will be an understatement if I again stress on the fact that Vidya’s portrayal of diverse and distinguished roles is a testament of quality, excelling in range, power and versatility.

Her forthcoming role of Sabrina Lal from No One Killed Jessica is just a few of the many more we will be a witness to in the days to come and in the near future. And as we come to an end of this exhilarating chat with one of India’s finest, I ponder and deliver – ‘What would possibly go wrong if Cleopatra had actually met Vidya Balan?’ I mean, ever wondered how Cleopatra would’ve looked if she was draped in a Sabyasachi’s saree? Our correspondent brings you part two of the exclusive chat with India’s very own – symbol of sexy and simplicity.

“When you talk about Jessica Lal, you talk about Sabrina”

Cinema is all about stirring emotions. For me, that happened in No One Killed Jessica. It was also about an emotional journey of Sabrina who was the face of the case, besides the media. When you talk about Jessica Lal, you talk about Sabrina because it was her bravery that got her sister justice.

“Raj Kumar Gupta saw me in my costume on day one and said, ‘That’s my Sabrina’”

I asked my director why he offered me the role of Sabrina and not the media person played by Rani Mukherjee. It’s an important question for me. He informed me that he needed an emotional graph of a woman and that I was the only one who could pull it off. This is one film that I’ve spoken very less about but yet I want to go on and on about it. The first day I did my costume trial and when my director saw me, he said, “That’s my Sabrina”.

“The promos never favoured Rani Mukherjee”

The promos never favoured Rani Mukherjee. The story is about these two people, played by me and Rani. The purpose of both these women were the same – to give justice, but their approaches were very different. Sabrina is about quiet strength and she looks very timid. Sabrina is almost like a wall flower. The promo can’t have too many silent moments. It has to have frenzy.

“Sabyasachi said that from a sexually aggressive character I’ve turned into an asexual unattractive one”

Sabyasachi went with Rani Mukherjee to London to shop for her clothes for No one Killed Jessica. He is such a designer that he doesn’t see films as a showcase for his clothes. Sabyasachi clothes characters. What took me by surprise is the fact that he came from London and said, “I got your clothes too”. So when I asked him why he didn’t take me along with him to London, he said, “I wanted clothes which were larger and not your size”. He gave me tees that were over sized and completely asexual. He told me, “From the sexually aggressive Krishna in Ishqiya, comes an asexual lady who ain’t pretty”. That was how real Sabyasachi wanted me to be in the film.

“I have pushed my schizophrenia to an unbelievable limit”

Words like ‘commercial cinema’ and ‘art house cinema’ are redundant in today’s time. Categories don’t exist anymore because I feel that a good film will always work. It could be anything. The scale of a film may differ but a good film that recovers its money is a hit. It could be a five crore, fifty crore or a hundred crore hit. Personally, every film I’ve acted in has given me something different to do and I have pushed my schizophrenia to an unbelievable limit (laughs).

“Zeenat Aman is a kind of sexy that is graceful sexy”

With the kind of clothes Zeenat Aman wore, she carried it with so much elegance. You never looked at Zeenat Aman and said ‘cheap’. She was an epitome of ‘sexy’. She is the kind of sexy that is ‘graceful sexy’. Even when you see her in her bellbottoms, she looked classy.

“My director stripped me of all the excesses”

Raj Kumar Gupta is someone who is very instinctive. Ever since I have made my debut, I’ve seen directors vision change and how. One in terms of treatment they give to their scenes. It’s real and not conventional. Directors like Abhishek Chaubey, Raj Kumar Gupta and Sujoy Ghosh are unconventional but very passionate and very high on conviction. That’s why they have the courage to make the types of films they want to make. Secondly, the new directors strip you of all the excesses. When I watched something of NOKJ, I asked myself, “Is that really me?”

“Rani Mukherjee is my favourite actress amongst my immediate seniors”

It’s exciting to work with a good actor and Rani Mukherjee is someone who I’ve always liked. I’ve liked her in Bunty Aur Babli, Raja Ki Aayegi Baarat and Black. Rani Mukherjee is my favourite actress amongst my immediate seniors. Like I said, acting is about reacting and when you work with an actor like Rani, its great fun. We don’t have too many scenes together in the film but we have worked together for a few days. We got along very well.

“I love the song ‘Aitbaar’ which talks about Sabrina’s journey

Amit Trivedi’s music and Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics complement each other. The first time I heard the song ‘Dilli Dilli’ I thought that it had some kind of weird energy about it. There is another favourite track of mine called ‘Aitbaar’ which is really about Sabrina’s journey and there is a crazy song like ‘Saali’. Three diverse songs which has everything to do with the film and its characters – Delhi, Sabrina and Rani’s character.

“One of the newspapers carried a headline – No one killed Jessica, and that became our title”

The title is very ambiguous but it has a deeper meaning to it. The day after the initial court case of Jessica Lal, when everyone got acquitted and the witnesses turned hostile, the conclusion was seen in the next day’s newspapers with a headline saying ‘No One Killed Jessica’. I like this title because it says a lot about the film and yet says nothing. I loved the titles Ishqiya, Dabangg and Lage Raho Munnabhai, not because it had Munnabhai but because it had ‘Lage Raho’. It was simple. I loved Parineeta too without sounding biased.

Vidya Balan delighted in a working girl look plugging her new film No One Killed Jessica (NOKJ) at the FM Station 98.3 Radio Mirchi Studios at Lower Parel in Mumbai on Tuesday, December 28.

Balan was accompanied by her co-star Rani Mukerji. The two stars, who rank amidst Bollywood’s finest, were animated and voluble talking about the film that is inspired from the Jessica Lal murder case in New Delhi.

The 32-year-old Ishqiya star, who plays Jessica Lal’s sister Sabina in the film, was dressed in character – a blush Lucknavi kurti, faded blue skinny jeans, black strappy sandals, thick frame eyeglasses and long wavy locks.

Balan and Mukerji talked with RJ Jeeturaaj while he played the film’s songs for the listeners. They also answered fan questions posed to them using the radio stations’s facebook account.

When it comes to fashion, Balan prefers a no-nonsense approach, wearing attires that she feels comfortable in. We bet she loves not having to doll up to promote NOKJ. We will probably be seeing a lot more of Balan in kurtis, jeans and eyeglasses in the coming days until the release of the film on January 7.

The only news about ‘No One Killed Jessica’ is about its lead stars Rani & Vidya not getting along. Will this help the film?

When two actresses work together in a film, it is obvious to expect rivalry but can that be used as publicity gimmick? Well that’s Bollywood! A film based on a subject as serious and sensitive like Jessica Lal’s murder case ‘No One Killed Jessica’ is in news for all the wrong reasons.

The problem between its leading ladies Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan has become the talk of the town. Interestingly, both the actresses flatly denied the news.

The promos of ‘NOKJ’ are out and getting extremely good response. Now the question is does a film with a strong subject need such publicity? Director Rajkumar Gupta feels that their focus is on the story, which is the hero of the film. Declaring all the bits regarding problems between the leading ladies false, he says, “The stories of them not getting along are baseless rumours. I think the focus is very much on the film while we were shooting it and now while we are promoting it.”

Hope the audiences realize that ‘NOKJ’ is more than just the leading ladies Rani and Vidya. The film is slated to release in January 2011.

No One Killed Jessica is a poignant, hard hitting and also an entertaining film. Made on a small budget with two of the best actresses of the country, Vidya Balan and Rani Mukherjee, the film is centered on the infamous Jessica Lal murder case.

Director Rajkumar Gupta who earned recognition with his film Aamir got inspired to make the film on Jessica’s case from a headline in a national newspaper. He believes that the courtroom trial of the case was a very important event in contemporary India, signified by the society that rallied around for justice for Jessica who was shot dead point blank by the son of a rich politician. The film is Rajkumar Gupta’s dramatic interpretation of the entire Jessica Lal case.

Rani plays a passionate reporter Meera in the film, and Vidya is Sabrina, sister of Jessica, who, with her undaunted spirit, continued to fight to seek justice for her dead sister. Recently the film’s promo released, and indeed it was a thrilling watch. No One Killed Jessica is releasing on January 7.

Vidya Balan clarifies about her number in Santosh Sivan’s Urumi.

Vidya Balan shows no sign of fatigue, as reported by tabloids recently. Did she break down on the sets of Kahani in Kolkata because she was overworked? “That’s completely untrue. Do you see any sing of exhaustion in me? By god’s grace, I’m an optimist. Sometimes one feels a little exhausted, but that’s fine,” she says.

No One Killed Jessica with Rani Mukerji is her next release. Is she anticipating any protests after the release of the film, which deals with the Jessica Lal murder case? “Not really. The case is very fresh in public memory. Everyone’s pretty much aware of it. The film is the director’s representation of what happened. It’s an entertaining dramatic thriller about a case we all know of,” maintains Vidya. Rumours of a cold war with Rani on the sets are rife, but Vidya says, “It was fantastic working with Rani. We had a great time on the sets.”

She’ll soon be seen in her first item number in Santosh Sivan’s Urumi. Pictures from the film show her in fuller form. Did she gain a few pounds for the song? “I know Malayali women are supposed to look voluptuous, but I didn’t gain weight for this. I’m completely thrilled, excited and ecstatic and will let my hair down and have fun. There’s a bit of belly dancing, Mohiniattam and even sword fighting in the song. It’s completely different from what I have done so far. But I’d call it a special appearance more than an item number,” claims Vidya.

She almost always picks a saree for her public appearances. Is it to pre-empt the encore of flak she received for not being able to carry off western attire previously? “I love the saree, especially the Kanjeevaram. It makes me feel sexy and sensuous. But I wear jeans with long shirts all the time. Even while promoting Paa, I wore casuals,” says Vidya.

She’s been inundated with awards ever since Paa. Does that increase the pressure to perform? “No. I look at each day as a new day and a new beginning.”

Rani Mukherjee is back again with her next release No One Killed Jessica. She is pairing up with actress Vidya Balan as the lead characters in the film. The film is directed by Rajkumar Gupta, critically acclaimed for his last film Aamir starring Rajeev Khandelwal.

No One Killed Jessica is a film based on the Jessica Lal case. Jessica Lal was an aspiring model in New Delhi and was well known as a celebrity bartender. She was shot dead on April 29, 1999 at a party. The murder within no time became the talk of the town. Mani Sharma, the son of a politician was convicted on December 2006, accused of Jessica’s murder.

Rani in the film portrays the character of a reporter who was covering the murder mystery. Vidya Balan portrays Jessica’s sister, Sabrina. The film’s released dates are not announced, but the film’s promo will be released in next few weeks.

Rani Mukherjee was last seen staring opposite Shahid Kapoor in the film Dil Bole Haddipa. The film was based on gender stereotypes, however, it failed to make a mark at the Box Office. Taking into consideration that Rani will be seen on the silver screen after a long time, lots of expectations have definitely risen. Hope her hard work for the film pays-off. Wishing all the luck to both Rani and Vidya for their film No One Killed Jessica.