By Jilawatan

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.

By Jilawatan

No One Killed Jessica actress Vidya Balan says she feels glad that today’s youth are not just clear about their opinions but know how to voice them and drive the government to act – as was seen in the Jessica Lall murder case. “I think it’s very interesting that youth are voicing their opinion on issues and willing to participate through blogs, SMSes and even social networking sites. And the media has helped youth a lot in mobilising public opinion. I am glad youth are not armchair activists saying justice should be meted out. Youth of today say, ‘We can be part of the process to make sure justice is given’. It’s wonderful,” Vidya told IANS in an interview.
The 32-year-old has a vivid recollection of youth participation during the over-a-decade-long legal battle following the murder of model Jessica Lall, who was shot dead by Manu Sharma, the son of a Haryana politician in 1999.

“Back then all of us felt very strongly about it. I remember college students were incensed by what had happened. I am talking about the time a little later than 1999… the case was still going…and there was a fervour across the country. Sitting in Mumbai, people were doing signature campaigns and everyone felt involved in some ways. So it’s nice to see youth have force,” she said.

In Rajkumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, releasing on January 7, Vidya will be seen essaying the role of Sabrina Lall, Jessica’s sister who fought day in and day out to get justice for her younger sister. After living the part in the reel, she hopes no one goes through the experience in real life.

“I would not want anyone to go through any legal battle for so long because the legality aside, it is emotionally draining. I do think that the verdict reassured my faith in the judicial system of the country, but, again, as a citizen I wish justice had been meted out earlier than it was,” said Vidya, who has teamed up with Rani Mukerji in the film.

Vidya never got a chance to meet Sabrina Lall in person before or during the shooting of the film. “Rajkumar Gupta was very clear that all I needed to know was the facts of the case. He wanted me to chart out an emotional journey of Sabrina on my own. Also, we didn’t want to misuse her kindness because she was kind enough to go through our script and give her consent to our film. Sabrina’s emotional journey is the core of the film. But, yes, it is a feature film…it is about stirring people’s emotions,” she said.

Does she hope the film will inspire youth to be more vocal? “I have never thought how inspirational could the film be for viewers. If it happens to inspire, great! But we have not set out to make the film for that purpose. What really inspired us was the spirit of Sabrina… spirit of all thos

By Jilawatan

Dismissing rumours that the two leading ladies of his forthcoming film No One Killed Jessica were at loggerheads, filmmaker Rajkumar Gupta says Rani Mukerji and Vidya Balan share a camaraderie and gel well.

It was reported that Vidya is not very happy with Rani because the Bengali beauty is hogging the limelight and taking maximum space in promotions. But Gupta called all the rumours baseless.

“I have been accompanying Rani and Vidya on most promotional events and they have been having a fabulous time. These are just rumours and there is no truth in these claims,” Gupta told IANS.

“I’ve seen how well they gel and the camaraderie that they share and the positivity with which they shot the film. So these are just rumours and not to be taken seriously,” he added.

Gupta, whose first film Aamir was a tale of a man’s struggle against terrorism, said that when he finished writing No One Killed Jessica, Rani and Vidya’s names instantly came to his mind for the main leads.

“Both are brilliant actors apart from being stars. Vidya has that certain kind of sensibility that was needed for her character. She is very sensitive not only as an actor but as a human being,” he said.

“Rani’s character required to have a lot of spunk and a headstrong and feisty attitude. I knew Rani will be able to do justice with that,” he added.

The film, slated to release Jan 7, is based on the murder of model Jessica Lall in 1999 by Manu Sharma, son of a Haryana politician, and the struggle of her sister Sabrina Lall to get justice for her.

It took the director, who has assisted filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in the past, three months to research about the case and seven months to write the script.

“I took up this subject as I thought it was a very inspiring story where in the course of events an entire nation came together and media played a very important role. I thought this would be an interesting story to portray on celluloid,” Gupta said.

However, his road to making this film was not without obstacles. The filmmaker said it was very challenging to give shape to the project.

“At every stage, there were challenges. The writing was the most difficult bit because the canvas was broad, there were so many characters and I didn’t want to make a documentary or a biography,” Gupta said.

“I wanted to get into the realms of cinema and make it an engaging and entertaining thriller. To get that entire thing in place, it took me some time to figure out and see how to go about it,” he said.

“I had to get a balance of fact and fiction because it was a very sensitive issue. So the script also had to be approached with a lot of sensitivity,” he added.

But wasn’t he scared that the movie might rake up many controversies because of the nature of the subject?

“This factor did come to my mind. So I tried to approach the film with as much sensitivity as possible,” the director said.

“But we must also keep in mind that the film is not about naming people or accusing anyone. That’s not my job as a filmmaker. It’s just my interpretation of the case,” he added.

After two serious drama films, Gupta is all set to make a light love story called Rapchik Romance, which is on the scripting stage at the moment.

By Jilawatan

Jhalak Dikhla Jaa 4 is getting to be one of the most interesting dance shows on the telly. The dance reality show that is aired on Sony Entertainment Television is creating a great platform to all the contestants as they are able to explore their talents not only in certain patent dance moves but also in very experimental dance forms.
The episode on Monday was a tad bit sad for the evicted contestant Renuka Shahane and her partner, but apart from that it was a mind blowing experience to see the other contestants shaking their legs in almost a varied form of dances that has never ever been seen before.
The episode had Sushant and his partner mesmerizing the audiences with their amazing dance moves in a dance form called the Chau, which was inspired from a movie. The two had reportedly called in a professional to teach them the right moves as the show organizers had allowed anyone who wanted outside help to get it in this particular round. They scored a perfect full on the score board with the best dancer of the day title.
The other contestant who made a distinct mark was Ragini. She along with her partner were excellent in a Tollywood number and most deservingly were awarded a full 30 on 30 by the judges along with the best dancer of the day award too.
The highlight of the episode was Rani Mukherjee and Vidya Balan’s presence.

The two had come to promote their forthcoming film No One Killed Jessica, and were astounding with their moves too. Rani Mukherjee got really mesmerized with Madhuri Dixit and declared that she was a self proclaimed fan of the great actress.
The episode was indeed a great refreshing one so tune in to Jhalak Dikhla Jaa every Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:pm IST.

By Jilawatan

Now when you have Vidya Balan telling you, “I am pregnant”, you’d get a shock of your life. You’d tend to look around and see if there isn’t anyone listening to the breaking news, right? So you look around and to your horror see half a dozen people staring at you. Then like a teacher telling a kid, ‘Come on son, fill in the blank’, Vidya completes the blank, “I am pregnant with anticipation for the release of No One Killed Jessica”.

Buzz up!
Smart, ain’t she? A pun in a way when she meant ‘pregnant’ because not only is she busy promoting her film No One Killed Jessica, she has wrapped up her film Kahani too which is directed by Sujoy Ghosh. On further questioning, she quotes, “Working with Sujoy was great fun. Kahani is special because I shot this film in my favourite city: Kolkata. It’s the fourth film I’ve shot there. I’ve seen Kolkata like I’ve never seen before.”

So when it comes to hard work, you know for sure that Vidya Balan nails it and how. To our surprise, she unquotes her quote, “After Parineeta, I felt that I really worked hard in Ishqiya but after Kahani, I felt that I’ve never worked hard before. We worked our a** off. It’s about this woman who comes down from London in search of her husband and what a search it was.”

Suave, smart, hard working, talented and then comes respect. Yes, one of the most respected names when it comes to the field of acting, she doesn’t forget to pay one too to her director Sujoy Ghosh. She comments, “I must say this today that I have the highest regards and respect for Sujoy Ghosh more as a human being. No one in my experience, so far, has been so wonderful at dealing with pressure. I almost felt that the crew were going to lay their lives for him. I’ve seen the worse come out of people in pressure but not Sujoy. God Bless him for that.”

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan immediately bowls you over with her smile and style. Excerpts from an interview.

From playing the sensuous Krishna in “Ishqiya” to Sabrina Lall in ” No One Killed Jessica” is a huge leap…
Oh! Totally. Both the characters are dramatically different. While Krishna was a firebrand, my portrayal of Sabrina is subdued. Moreover, one is a fictitious character whereas the other is inspired by a real person. So that was the big challenge.

Taking into account your past films, seems like you want to be different each time?
More than anything else, it’s gratifying to play different characters. No one person is similar to the other and I want to do something different each time I’m on screen. To a certain extent I have proved that Vidya Balan can do a lot more than others think and that makes me happy. But as an actor I don’t think I’m ever going to be satisfied with the way my career is going so far. I have this insatiable hunger to keep doing different characters everytime. In my next with Sujoy Ghosh I play a pregnant woman throughout the movie. After I finish playing one character, I have this need to play another person. In a way I’m schizophrenic and I love it.

You are the only South Indian actor from your generation to have made it big in the Hindi film industry.
I feel blessed. People thought I was limited due to my looks. But I transformed that. Today, when top directors want to sign me for their films, it shows their faith in me and shows that I have evolved as an actor. The credit goes to my parents and well wishers who egged me on. It’s due to them that I have this fire in my belly. Plus, I have been fortunate to have chosen the right scripts and worked with the best directors. Some day, I hope to do mad comedies like Sridevi did.

With “Paa” and “Ishqiya” doing well you’ve proved that a heroine need not don skimpy outfits to draw crowds.
Over time, the only actresses who’ll survive will be the ones who have given substantial performances. The awards that we receive are for the work we have done and not for the clothes we have worn. But it’s not just an actor’s effort that has brought about the change. It’s the kind of scripts and directors who have given women prominence on screen. Today, you are less apologetic about being a woman in showbiz.

Any plans of doing a full- fledged South Indian film?
My parents want me to do do a Malayalam film some day. For starters I have done a guest appearance in “Urumi”. Maybe in the future, I’ll do a full-fledged Malayalam film. I’m also open to Telugu films.

By Jilawatan

While addressing the media, a source said, “Vidya has not had a break since the past five months. Her schedule has been extremely hectic for the past few weeks. She is sleeping for barely 2-3 hours a day. She definitely needs some rest.

“Last afternoon, we reached the multiplex where a promotional event for ‘No One Killed Jessica’. She told Rani and a couple of people next to her that she was not feeling well.”

Vidya’s hectic to-do list includes shooting for director Sujoy Ghosh’s untitled film, an item number in Santosh Sivan’s film and several promotional events for her upcoming flick ‘No One Killed Jessica’.

It seems Vidya has taken the proverb “time and tide waits for none” a bit too seriously.

Vidya’s guardian angel
Rani Mukherjee, Vidya’s co-actor in the film ‘No One Killed Jessica’, along with the crew members helped Vidya to recover.

Rani, who had a clash with Vidya during the film shooting, setting aside all differences, turned out to be an angel for the enervated actress.

“A chair was brought for her and she passed out for a couple of minutes. Rani told the crew members to get something sweet for her and water. She was given all these and she sat down for sometime.Rani told her to take proper rest,” a source said.

NOKJ is not a biography or docu-drama
‘No One Killed Jessica’ (NOKJ) is an authentic story based on the Jessica Lall murder case that happened in Delhi.

Director of the film, Rajkumar Gupta said, “The film is inspired by a series of true events. The inspiration angle to the story attracted me. The case brought people together. So many unlikely heroes emerged. But it is not a biography or docu-drama.”

“I wanted to take the spirit of the story and add emotion and thrill. It is part fiction and part fact and very engaging and entertaining thriller. As a filmmaker I thought it was worth raising the questions,” he added.

The film was shot at well-known places like Nehru Place, Chandni Chowk, Kalkaji, Bus Adda, Paranthe Wali Gali etc in Delhi.

The film is slated to hit the silver screen on Jan. 7, next year.

By Jilawatan

If old Bollywood flicks had damsels in distress faint with shock on reel, today’s heroines are doing it in real life. Vidya Balan is the latest one to join the ‘too-stressed-to-stand’ fainting club along with Piggy Chops and Katrina. With the short expiry date on the female-actor package, Vidya is doing too much, too soon.

While promoting her latest flick No One Killed Jessica at a multiplex in Hyderabad, Vidya passed out for a few minutes. Thankfully, the crew members of the film were with her and ready to offer a helping hand. But playing guardian angel was none other than co-star Rani Mukherjee.

A source that was with her at the promotional event said, “Vidya has not had a break since the past five months. Her schedule has been extremely hectic for the past few weeks. She is sleeping for barely 2-3 hours a day.

She definitely needs some rest. Last afternoon, we reached the multiplex where a promotional event for No One Killed Jessica. She told Rani and a couple of people next to her that she was not feeling well.

“A chair was brought for her and she passed out for a couple of minutes. Rani told the crew members to get something sweet for her and water. She was given all these and she sat down for some time. Rani told her to take proper rest.”

The friend added, “Vidya has been shooting for Sujoy Ghosh’s untitled film since the last two months and the moment she got back, she has constantly been promoting No One… She has not had a break in a long time and she is stressed and tired.”

Vidya remained unavailable for comment. However, the spokesperson of No One… said, “She has been shooting non-stop for Sujoy Ghosh’s film, an item song for Santosh Sivan’s film, and also has been dubbing and promoting No One Killed Jessica.

She was exhausted and a day’s rest is just what she needs. She is fine now and there is nothing to worry about.”

By Jilawatan

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.

By Jilawatan

Well, Aamir certainly seems to have inspired a lot of Bollywood artistes into following his perfectionist ways. And Vidya Balan seems set to be the next actress going the Aamir way. Vidya has decided to do one or two films a year as she wants to make sure that they will be successful at the box office.
Sources say, “Vidya is ensuring that she gives 100 per cent to her roles from the moment the script lands in her hand. She makes sure she knows her character thoroughly before taking on the role and studies everything there is to know about it. You will never see her doing ditzy roles but significantly defining ones.”
After Paa and Ishqiya, Vidya’s penchant for acting will now be seen in the role of Sabrina Lall in Rajkumar Gupta’s No One Killed Jessica, based on the murder of the model Jessica Lall. The actress has made sure that she has left no stone unturned in performing the role.
“It is necessary for me as an actor,” says Vidya. “I am constantly looking to do something different. I want to look forward to something new when I get up every morning. I want that excitement when I go on the sets or else life will be boring. Such roles make me selfish as an actor.”
Speaking about the film she says, “The film is a fast paced thriller set in the hub of political power, New Delhi. It is the story of two amazing women and their relentless pursuit of justice that mobilises an entire nation to prove that in a democracy there is no greater power than the power of the people.”