Vidya Balan

By Jilawatan

Vidya wants to gather as much information as possible on Smitha, her life and the kind of person she was by meeting with her family and friends. Apparently, Vidya has no intention to get embroiled in any controversy post-production.

“This is Vidya’s second biographical character in a year. Just as UTV made sure that her part as Sabrina Lal in No One Killed Jessica was approved by her family, Vidya wants Silk Smitha’s family to give their go-ahead,” revealed a source close to the actress.

However, all this will have to wait as Vidya, currently, is busy shooting for Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Kahaani’.

Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Films will be producing ‘The Dirty Picture’. The production house ended up getting into trouble after claiming that ‘OUATIM’ was a biopic on gangster Haji Mastan.

Controversial characters are tricky to portray, says Vidya
When contacted, Vidya confirmed that she indeed will be doing some heavy duty research on the life of Silk Smitha as portraying real life characters on-screen is a tricky business.

“One has to be very careful about portraying real lives on screen, especially controversial ones,” said Vidya, who allegedly want film’s producers to state in her contract that film is a biopic and is a legitimate one.

Tabloids had also been reporting that Vidya’s reluctant to do certain scenes in the film. However, when actress was asked about it, she revealed that she’s still discussing things with Balaji and it’s too early to say anything.

Speculations are rife that Rajkumar Santoshi is seriously considering casting Vidya in his next, inspired by real life events.

About Silk Smitha
Silk Smitha was born as Vijayalakshmi in a poor family in Eluru, AP, on Dec. 2, 1960.

She seemed to know her destination from very young age as she left home and studies after fourth standard and went to Madras to become film star. She become household name with her first major role in Tamil film ‘Vandi Chakkaram’ in 1979.

She did over 200 films and was famous for her bold roles. The actress dubbed as “soft porn” actress by critics, was found dead in her Chennai apartment in 1996.

By Jilawatan

She was hailed as the next big thing when she made her debut two years ago in Pradeep Sarkar’s Parineeta. But now everyone is questioning Vidya Balan’s career decisions. Critisised for her itsy-bitsy role in Eklavya, her unflattering wardrobe in Heyy Babyy and her refusal to promote Mani Ratnam’s Guru, Vidya Balan seems to be courting controversy with every step she takes.
Rajeev Masand: You are just back from a long two-month outdoor in Toronto shooting for Aziz Mirza’s Lucky Charm . What was the experience like, being away for so long?
Vidya Balan: Yes, this has been my longest outdoor. Toronto is a beautiful place and it was my first trip there. We were at a very pretty location downtown. We were actually on Lake Ontario so it was beautiful. I love Aziz Mirza. He spreads so much positivity and cheer that rubs off on everyone. Otherwise what can happen on such a long shoot is that you just get on each other’s nerves. But I don’t think any of that happened. We really had a nice time.
Rajeev Masand: With you being away for two months, you didn’t really get to savour the success of you film Heyy Babyy.
Vidya Balan: Yes, I have just come in though I know it has done really well because I have been in touch with Sajid (Khan) and a couple of other people from the team. I have not been here to enjoy the success but that has also saved me a lot of flak. So maybe there’s a reason for everything.
Rajeev Masand: The flak was not really directed towards your performance as much as it was directed towards your wardrobe.
Vidya Balan: That’s some respite at least. For the wardrobe, I would like to take as much responsibility as Manish (Malhotra) because I think I was a little blasé about the clothes and the look. I tried to be different but I have learnt that you don’t have to look different for the sake of being different. Manish and I should have been more careful because it is the first time I have sported a western look. It would unfair to say that Manish gave me bad clothes because I can also look into the mirror and see what works and what doesn’t. But I didn’t bother too much so both of us should be splitting the flak.
Rajeev Masand: Your film Bhool Bhulaiyya is releasing on the same day as Laaga Chunari Mein Daag. You were offered a role in Laaga … first but you could not do it for whatever reasons. So do you that find it ironic or poetic?
Vidya Balan: Poetic, yes. Like I have said before, I never imagined not being part of Dada’s (Pradeep Sarkar) film. I just got to know a week ago that it’s releasing on the same day. I was amazed. It’s great.
Rajeev Masand: You must feel tricky because you can’t want the other film to not do well.
Vidya Balan: I don’t want anyone’s film to not do well. I’m not trying to sound holier-than-thou but I know what goes into making a film and I think there are enough people to be watching all kinds of films.
Rajeev Masand: You must have heard that your film Eklavya has a bit of a controversy surrounding it regarding it being sent for the Oscars. What’s you view on this?
Vidya Balan: I wouldn’t like to say much about it because at the moment the matter is sub judice. As an actor, it just feels good that one of my films was selected. Last year, Lage Raho Munnabhai was sent as an independent entry. I enjoyed working on Eklavya. Vidhu Vinod Chopra is someone who I had wanted to work with ever since I had seen Parinda. I remember in a little black book I had a list of directors I wanted to work with and his name was in one of the first pages.
Rajeev Masand: Tell us a little more about this little black book. So how many names have you struck off it already?
Vidya Balan: I’m a very greedy person. I have worked with Mani Ratnam but I want to work with him on a full-fledged role. There’s Vidhu Vinod Chopra who I again want to work with. Strangely, I had watched Dada’s music videos and I had told myself I want to work with him. He stopped doing music videos. Finally when he did one after two and a half years I was actually in it. So divine intervention, I guess. There’s Rajkumar Santoshi and Nikhil Advani who I have worked with also.
Rajeev Masand: So that’s a good record.
Vidya Balan: Yes, but there’s a long, long, long way to go.
Rajeev Masand: Best of luck. Let’s hope we see a lot of different roles and films from you. Thank you for talking to us.