By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan goes from playing Krishna, the siren in Ishqiya speaking spicy language to a simple, no make-up look while she plays Sabrina Lall, sister of the murdered Jessica Lall in No One Killed Jessica.

And to turn her into a simple girl, who fights for her sister’s murder, we hear that designer Sabyasachi’s brief in the film was that Vidya must look like the girl-next-door and no one should notice her as she walks on the road.

People on the set say that he found the brief more difficult than the usual films where he has to add to the women’s beauty.

By Jilawatan

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.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan showed audiences her sensual side in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Ishqiya early this year. After getting rave reviews for that performance, the actress has signed on to enact the life and times of one of South India\’s biggest sex-symbols, Silk Smitha, in director Milan Luthria\’s next project called ‘The Dirty Picture’.

Vidya recently did a racy photo- shoot for a magazine for which she has received many compliments.

The actress suffered from a nervous breakdown while shooting for Sujoy Ghosh\’s film Kahaani in Kolkata. So busy is the actress that she has yet to throw a housewarming party for her friends after buying a spacious flat in Mumbai’s Khar in February.

She is also miffed with director Rajkumar Gupta about having Jessica Lal\’s sister Sabrina make a guest appearance in her forthcoming movie No One Killed Jessica. She feels that the least the makers could have done is respect Jessica\’s family privacy and not directly involve Sabrina in the movie.

By Jilawatan

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.”

By Jilawatan

or a year, both Vidya Balan and Rani Mukerji have been part of the making of ” No One Killed Jessica”, a movie that’s based on the Jessica Lall murder case in Delhi and Sabrina Lall’s fight for justice for her sister. Yet, Vidya, who plays Sabrina, and Rani, who plays the role of a reporter who helps Sabrina, did not meet Lall during the filming of the movie.

But on Thursday, Sabrina was present at the unveiling of the first look of the film in Delhi along with the two actresses and the movie’s director Rajkumar Gupta, and the group spent a long time talking about the case, the movie and its filming. Sabrina was overwhelmed when she saw the trailer of the movie and told TOI, “There are a lot of situations, little incidents that happened then and are part of the trailer, and they bring back a flood of emotions. But the trailer makes me want to watch more.” Sabrina added that despite the movie having two mainstream actresses, she never bothered about the movie becoming more masala than reality. She says, “UTV was at the helm – if it were someone else, and I won’t take any names, I surely would’ve been worried. After meeting Rajkumar and reading the script, I was never worried. I was also not involved with any other decisions on the movie. I was only there for the inputs.”

By Jilawatan

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.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan and Rajkumar Gupta, the director of No One Killed Jessica, are at war.

The much-talked-about film about the murder of Delhi girl Jessica Lal, as seen through the eyes of Jessica’s sister Sabrina Lal, is in a state of flux now. The lead actress and the director are at loggerheads over a serious issue.

Should the real Sabrina Lal be brought into the film? That’s the bone of contention. And Vidya, who otherwise has complete faith in her director’s decisions, is not okay with this one.

Says a source close to the project, “When Vidya first heard about Rajkumar Gupta’s plans to bring the real Sabrina into the project, she was aghast. She immediately asked Gupta if this was true. When told that Gupta and the producers UTV were indeed keen to have Sabrina in the film, Vidya suggested it would not be a good idea.

In fact, she clearly saw this as a violation of privacy. Vidya felt it was one thing to make a film on Jessica’s murder. But to put the real Sabrina Lal on screen seemed gimmicky to her.

However, Gupta had quite a different take on the subject. He felt bringing the real Sabrina into the picture would only enhance the credibility of the bio-pic.” Even now when the film is just two months from release director Rajkumar Gupta is trying to persuade the real Sabrina Lal to make an appearance in No One Killed Jessica.

Vidya seems unaware that her request to keep the real Sabrina Lal out of the picture is being set aside. Says Vidya, “I think the least we can do to respect Jessica Lal’s memory is to respect her family’s privacy.

I don’t think it’s right to expect Sabrina to make an appearance in our film. It would open up too many wounds for the family.”

Director Rajkumar Gupta has a different take on the subject. “Wait and see if Sabrina is in the film or not. That’s all I can say at the moment.”

It remains to be seen who blinks first. Vidya or Gupta.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan was in Kolkata when her bare-backed boldest photo-shoot ever made news. People associated with her forthcoming film The Dirty Picture based on the life of Silk Smitha were busy trying to plug the pictures as part of the actress’ preparation for the role of the sleaze queen of the 1970s.

Vidya laughs off these rumours, “Nothing of the sort. The bare-backed pictures just happened. Just because these pictures are, as you say, provocative and Silk Smita was a provocative character, it doesn’t mean the two are related. At the moment, I am not giving a thought to anything except Sujoy’s film Kahani. I can’t afford to think of any other film right now. I’ll sit down for discussions on The Dirty Picture after I finish shooting Kahani and promote No One Killed Jessica.”

For Jessica, plans to include the slain girl’s sister Sabrina Lal (the character that Vidya plays) in the film were dropped. “I think we needed to respect her privacy after what she has gone through,” says Vidya.

Vidya says she did the bare-backed cover for a magazine because she wanted to bring out the sensuous side of the saree. “They had never done an Indian cover before. And they said I was the best person to do an Indian cover. I always believe the saree to be the most sensuous apparel. I think I was born to wear the saree. And I was shooting with a photographer I could trust blindly. I always try to surprise myself. It’s not about creating an impact. We did the whole shoot in just one costume with no hair or makeup change.”

By Jilawatan

This year, Hindi film star Vidya Balan has not only been on a roll professionally, but personally, too, she has had much to look forward to.

On her list is her latest asset — her new apartment in Khar, one that she bought in February. But, ironically, the beautiful actress has hardly had time to enjoy her new home since then.

“Yes, I’ve had an extremely hectic year with so many outdoor schedules that I’ve hardly spent any time at my new home,” Vidya said.

In fact, it was on her mother’s insistence that Vidya managed to fly down from Kolkata just to do the Diwali puja at her new residence.

“I guess the house is lucky for me, because though I’ve been away from it all this while, it’s all been for a very good reason — work,” said Vidya.

The actress, who was busy shooting for No One Killed Jessica, is now busy with Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahani.

Vidya said she had been dodging all her friends’ queries on the much-awaited house-warming party, which she is yet to host. And the wait has become so long now that the common joke among close friends is that she has a man in her life, whom she keeps hidden there.

“That was my little secret!” she exclaimed, laughing. “My friends love pulling my leg about me not inviting them over for a house-warming yet. They can be a mean bunch.”

On a serious note, Vidya said, “I have been planning to organise a small get-together for friends and family to celebrate my house, but I’ll do it once I’ve added my personal touch to the place.

“I’ve been using it as a hotel room till now — as a stopover between one shoot to another. But I will soon take a break and enjoy some time home alone.”

Till then, her friends can wait…

By Jilawatan

Rani Mukherjee is currently working with Vidya Balan for their upcoming movie No One Killed Jessica. But the latest buzz is that the two Bengali beauties are not the best of buddies on the set.

Crew members revealed that Rani, who is a senior actress with many awards in her kitty, maintains a distinctive behaviour that inhibits Vidya from talking to her. Vidya is not very keen to break the ice either. The two beauties give their shots and then scurry back to their vanity vans.

Although no one has seen the two actresses fight, the cold vibes on set is apparent. So, what is the reason behind this strife? Reports suggest that designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee ditched Vidya for Rani Mukherjee for his directorial debut, and since then the two actresses are not in talking terms. Rani, on the other hand, asked the director of No One Killed Jessica to make certain changes to the script, which would cut Vidya’s role short. As the saying goes ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’.