Vidya Balan

By Jilawatan

Even though she is known for her serious roles, Vidya Balan takes the liberty to have some fun at times. While shooting for Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, Vidya had to do a photo shoot for the film. And as Sujoy waited for her on the sets, he was in for a shock to see a ‘drunk’ Vidya show up on the set.

Sujoy, who wanted to wrap up the shoot that day, was surprised when Vidya wouldn’t shoot properly. She was slurring and acting like she’d drop any minute. As the actor continued her real-life act for half an hour, Sujoy sat quietly in a corner, as the photo shoot went on, with a worried look.

Finally, Vidya burst out laughing and put an end to the prank. “She pulled of the ‘I–am-so-drunk’ act so naturally that I believed it. Although I know it’s not like Vidya to show up in a drunken state, but full marks to the actress for playing the role,” says the director.

In Sujoy’s Kahaani, Vidya plays a married woman whose husband leaves London and comes to India for a job. After he goes missing, Vidya — who is pregnant — goes to Kolkata to search for him. The actor shot the film in the City of Joy for most parts of the year.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan is known as the Miss Perfect of Bollywood like Aamir Khan, the actress before getting into the skin of the character always studies or carries out a thorough research over it.

Sources said Vidya did the same for her role in Sujoy Ghosh’s next Kahani. She plays a pregnant mother and any guesses Vidya spent almost a fortnight with three expecting mothers before getting into the role.

“Vidya met three expecting mothers who are in different stages of motherhood and studied the process, gynac issues, food habits, mood swings and especially the final day of labour pain,” said a source from the film unit.

In fact she impressed the director Sujoy so much after giving timely expressions during the photoshoots that he went down to her feet seeking her blessings calling her mother of all actreses.

He was aghast when he got to know that Vidya also discreetly managed to sneak inside an operation theatre to witness a delivery of a child and the inducing of labour pain which are said to be the crucial time of women’s life, says sources.

Let’s hope Vidya’s hardships are justified by Sujoy’s film making.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan and her Kahaani director Sujoy Ghosh have this endearing love hate relationship. They fight like kids and make up quickly too. But Sujoy makes Vidya laugh so much that she says she has to keep a stern expression while dealing with him. Otherwise no work will ever get done thanks to the giggles fits she gets. Also Vidya is so impressed by his directorial skills and his narrative that she was inspired to ‘choreograph’ a scene in the film. She and Sujoy sat down and designed the whole scene. And it has turned out very well. What next Vidya? Giggle fits over the director’s megaphone?

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan didn’t let anyone smoke on the sets of Kahaani. And on days when no-one was caught with a cigarette, not even the chain smokers, she would call for a cake and chocolates for everyone. As reported (‘No smoking, says Vidya’; Hitlist, February 9), even director Sujoy Ghosh was not allowed to light up during the shoot. And when he tried smoking, he was caught on camera by crew members and then punished by the actress. Here’s Sujoy saying mujhe maaf kar do…

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan has got a new nickname these days. Everyone is referring to the actress as Baby Balan — thanks to the slew of mommy roles she has been doing of late, the most recent one being in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani.

Earlier too she played a mother in Sajid Khan’s Heyy Baby and Balki’s Paa. Now for Sujoy’s film, Vidya has been sporting a baby bump and looking quite comfortable with it. Needless to say, the director is only too pleased with his actress. “It’s a story of a woman who is six months pregnant and traces her journey from thereon. 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.
Guess Baby Balan is doing her director proud!

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan who has proved her acting skill in the industry is now eyeing on direction. Hopefully, she would succeed in her new initiative too. We witnessed the talented lady’s directorial skill on the sets of Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Kahaani’ where the actress was often found discussing direction with the director between the shots. Besides, she was also seen sitting with the cast, offering them tips on understanding the technical aspects of filmmaking! According to her close source, she grew as an actress and now she is taking interest in filmmaking. Vidya plays a pregnant woman in the film, which also sees a couple of young actors making their debut.

Recently, the actress inaugurated Seven Hills Hospital’s Aesthetic Clinic, which claims to offer both cosmetic dermatology and cosmetic surgery services at affordable prices. Seven Hills calims to be the largest aesthetic set up in India with 6000 sq. ft. area dedicated to the cosmetic dermatology and cosmetic surgery department. Apart from the state of the art advanced medical technologies related to skin, hair and body, the hospital also offers latest, finest technologies and surgeries like TUBA (Trans- Umbilical Breast Augmentation) facility . The hospital has added this facility for the first time in India.

By Jilawatan

She took people back to the black and white era with her role in the period film “Parineeta”. Then came her fashion faux pas and a dip in the career graph. But a careful and confident Vidya Balan is on the rise again in Bollywood.

Though at 33 she is just six years old in the Hindi movie industry, her oeuvre is so impressive that there was a Vidya Balan retrospective at the Indian film fest in two Australian cities.

From playing a foul mouthed, manipulative vengeful woman in ” Ishqiya” to the mother of a progeria patient to a grieving sister in ” No One Killed Jessica”, Vidya has been proving her versatility with her nuanced handling of different characters.

Her much-talked-about forthcoming releases – director Milan Luthria’s “The Dirty Picture”, based on the life of Silk Smitha, south Indian cinema’s sex symbol, and Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller “Kahani” in which she plays a six-month pregnant woman – are expected to take her creativity to another level.

Applauding her work and choice of roles, director Sudhir Mishra said: “She is very brave and very gutsy. Hats off to Vidya. She will last longer. It will pay her off very well. She will be remembered as another kind of actress and remembered more than a lot of people. She should continue doing this kind of roles. She should do what she can do well. She should retain that uniqueness.”

Director Anurag Kashyap feels what Vidya is doing is pathbreaking. “I think she is showing the way for everyone else. Vidya’s fan following has increased 50-fold after the kind of work she started doing. We need her,” he added.

This Iyer girl from Palakkad in Kerala grew up in Mumbai. She did her graduation in sociology from St. Xavier’s College.

After award-winning debut with the period drama “Parineeta” (2005), she charmed her fans in a modern avatar in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”. Her small but impressive role in ” Guru” too earned her accolades.

But after a meteoric rise to fame, her career took a dip post “Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love” and it seemed as if lady luck had deserted her completely. She was in the news for all the wrong reasons — from her choice of roles to co-stars to her looks in movies like “Heyy Babyy” and “Kismet Konnection” — she was criticised for everything.

By Jilawatan

Everyone knows that Vidya Balan plays the protaganist in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, a pregnant woman who comes down to India in search of her missing husband. But not many know that she is the only actor from Bollywood to be cast in the film. All the other characters are played by television and stage artistes from Kolkata, barring one from New Delhi. “The film is based in Kolkata and I could not think of anyone from Mumbai who could fit into the characters that I had conceived. I only chose one actor from Delhi as he plays a character who hails from the capital,” explains Ghosh.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the director wrote the film with Vidya in mind. “The emotions that her character goes through could only be portrayed by an actor like Vidya. She researches her part so well that I hardly have to explain any scene to her,” says the director. Kahaani releases on June 17.

By Jilawatan

After directing films such as Jhankaar Beats, Home Delivery and Aladin, writer-director Sujoy Ghosh is now ready with his latest film Kahaani.

Buzz up!
Kahaani, starring Vidya Balan in the lead role, is a story of a woman, who is on the look-out for her husband, who has gone missing. The film has been mainly shot in Kolkata.

Produced by PEN India and Boundscript, Kahaani is all set for release on June 17 this year.

By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan is known for delivering power-packed performances in film after film. After Paa, Ishqiya and No One Killed Jessica, Vidya will be next seen in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani.

Kahaani is a story of a pregnant woman who is on the look-out for her husband who’s gone missing. The film has been majorly shot in Kolkata. Sujoy Ghosh tweeted, “KAHAANI was shot in all real locations. No budget to build set. In Kolkata its totally impossible to shoot real but we did it:)”