By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan looks all set to unite with her Munnabhai co-star Sanjay Dutt for a new bag of gags. This time, she will be reprising Hema Malini’s role in the 1982 comedy, Satte Pe Satta.

The film, directed by Soham Shah, will see Dutt essay Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the original.

“It’s true. Vidya has been approached to play the role essayed by Hema Malini in Satte Pe Satta.

“Shah wanted an actress who could look mature and sexy, traditional and modern at the same time,” says a trade analyst.

Reportedly, Vidya loved the script and is keen to work out the dates for the film in her packed diary.

Shah, who made his Bollywood debut as a director in the Karan Johar-produced film Kaal in 2005, is now busy giving finishing touches to his script, said a source.

“The casting of the other characters will be announced in due time,” added the source.

The 1982 original, directed by Raj N. Sippy, was a Bollywood remake of the 1954 Hollywood musical, Seven Brides For Seven Brothers.

While Vidya’s role in the new film will be along the lines of Hema Malini’s character of a no-nonsense bhabhi, director Shah plans to give her character a quirky update to match the tastes of Gen-Now.

It will also be in keeping with Vidya’s image as an actress who has been successfully playing very different characters, including a hip mom in Paa and the sultry village woman in Ishqiya.

“The heroine also had to be a girl who could match up to a senior actor like Sanjay Dutt,” said the source.

In fact, Dutt was reportedly keen that Shah cast Vidya as the heroine in the film. The original film saw Hema Malini’s character, Indu, fall in love and marry Amitabh Bachchan’s character, Ravi.

Much of the comedy in Satte Pe Satta arose from Indu’s attempts to get along with Ravi’s six brothers, who have grown up without any parental supervision.

Of late, Vidya has had a great run at the box-office. Also, after picking up almost all the popular Best Actress awards for her role in Paa last year, she seems to have become the darling of the awards circuit. She is on a winning spree for her role in Ishqiya as well.

Vidya’s upcoming kitty of films is quite an interesting mix. She plays a vengeful action heroine in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, said to be a remake of Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill.

Milan Luthria’s Dirty Picture is a biopic that casts Vidya as the troubled Tamil siren, Silk Smitha.

Vidya has already created a buzz with reports saying she has put on weight to match Silk Smitha’s “thunder thighs” look that ruled in the eighties.

Her special dance number in Santosh Sivan’s upcoming Urumi has also kept her in the news, even as she continues to receive rave reviews for her role of Sabrina Lall in her latest release, No One Killed Jessica.

“It’s been a while since Vidya has done a solid comic role. She would love to play the central female character in the Satte Pe Satta remake. Of course, she has to okay the script first,” says the source.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan, who has three Filmfare Awards in her kitty, said that she cherishes her first Filmfare the most, which she got in 2006 for her performance in Parineeta. She confessed at a recent news conference that she was very nervous when she climbed the stage to get the award.

Buzz up!
“I couldn’t see anything and there were stars in my eyes. I was nervous and there was stage fear,” she confessed. Asked how important is awards to an actress, Vidya said, “You always dream of awards. But the biggest award is people’s appreciation. I don’t think of box office collection but do my best.”

It may be recalled that Vidya has won Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and Filmfare Face of the Year in 2006 for her role in Parineeta and Filmfare Best Actress Award for Paa in 2010.

She has been nominated to the 56th Idea Filmfare Awards 2010 for the Best Actress category for her role in Ishqiya. The Idea Filmfare Awards function will be held at the Yash Raj Films Studio tonight. Will Vidya win the award again? Wait and watch!

By Jilawatan

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.

By Jilawatan

The Bollywood sensation Vidya Balan with south connection in her life was in Bengaluru on Tuesday as Shebrina of ‘No One Kills Jessica’ reality show promotional campaign.

Frequent visit to Bengaluru as her sister lives here Vidya Balan expressed interest in watching a stage play at Ranga Shankara of her favorite ‘Bum’ (of ‘Paa’) Arundhati Nag. Quite familiar with Kannada film industry developments Vidya Balan had seen director Kavitha Lankesh ‘Deveeri’ and Dr Girish Kasaravalli’s ‘Dweepa’ in the past. Vidya Balan the Bollywood beauty knows the contributions of icon of Kannada cinema Dr Rajakumar and the growth of the industry she has watched closely. The Kannada cinema industry is also quite fast nowadays she pointed.

Vidya Balan decked in ordinary costumes is in Milan Lutharia directed The Dirty Pictures and a few offers in Hindi. Her agenda for 2011 is slimming down to some extent.

By Jilawatan

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!

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

Aishwarya Rai was seen with a baby bump in ‘Guru’; Preity Zinta shot an entire song with her baby bump in ‘Salaam Namaste’ but in both the cases their pregnancy bump lasted only a few scenes.
However, actress Vidya Balan shall be portraying the character of a woman who is 6 months pregnant in her next Sujoy Ghosh film ‘Kahaani’. And she won’t be carrying her baby bump merely for a scene or two but she shall be pregnant throughout the length of the movie.

In the movie Vidya plays a married woman whose hubby leaves London and comes to India for a job. However, after he goes missing, Vidya comes to Kolkata to hunt her husband down. And Vidya shall be doing her husband-hunt in her pregnancy period.
As the director Sujoy Ghosh puts it, a pregnant woman isn’t a Batman or a Superman and Vidya’s character shall be exploring the vulnerability of the feminine side. Sujoy has confirmed the news and has hailed Vidya as a perfectionist. He also cites that he had penned the role keeping Vidya in mind and wouldn’t have made the film if Vidya had rejected his offer.
But this is not the first time that Vidya shall be showing the nascent side of her motherhood. She played a mother in ‘Heyy Baby’ and was the Maa of Amitabh Bachchan in Paa.

By Jilawatan

Director Sujoy Ghosh, who has roped in Vidya Balan for his forthcoming film Kahani, believes the actress can indentify good scripts.

“What I like about Vidya is that she is dead fussy, but in a good way. She has an uncanny sense about scripts,” Ghosh said in a statement.

Ghosh is justified in his belief – with roles like a struggling mother of a progeria patient in Paa to a brutally seductive rural woman in Ishqiya, she has always treaded different path.

Not only that, her next release No One Killed Jessica, based on the real life incident of model Jessica Lal’s murder, will see her playing Sabrina Lal, who fought tooth and nail to get justice for her sister.

Set in Kolkata, Ghosh’s Kahani is a woman-oriented thriller.

“Much like Hrithik Roshan, Vidya is quite a risk taker. She loves getting out of her comfort zone and pushing herself with every single film. She loves experimenting and she is the kind of actress who can pulls off every role. She is on a high as her films are critically acclaimed and commercially successful as well,” said an industry source.

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.”

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.”