By Jilawatan

Vidya Balan gets a little too close for comfort with co-stars Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah in Abhishek Chaubey’s upcoming risqué film Ishqiya.

Produced by Vishal Bharadwaj, debutant director Abhishek Chaubey’s forthcoming flick Ishqiya has created quite a buzz already. Set in eastern Uttar Pradesh, Ishqiya is a tale of romance between individuals caught in a web of crime, suspense, passion and deceit. Vidya plays a sensuous widow, who leaves good-for-nothing Arshad and Naseer in a tipsy.

The film has already landed in its fair share of trouble with the censor board and, more recently, women focus groups, who objected to the vulgar content, abusive language and violence. The music of the film has already begun to top the charts, and now with the news of Vidya’s several intimate scenes with Naseer and Arshad in the movie, Ishqiya has been tagged as one of the most anticipated flicks of the year.

“I think I have been fortunate enough to have worked on the kind of films which have quenched my thirst as an actor,”said Vidya, when asked about the movie. The actress doesn’t believe it to be a big deal to have had the intimate scenes with her co-stars, whom she shares a great camaraderie with. Vidya had a 10-day acting workshop with Naseer and Arshad in order to break the ice with them, along with trying to get into the skin of her character.

“The scenes were important to the storyline and crucial to my character. They were shot very professionally, and it is because everybody shares such a great rapport on sets,” said Vidya. She then spoke of her co-star Arshad, saying, “Arshad is a brilliant actor. He is very versatile. I feel he is underutilized in our cinema. I think he can be one of those European actors who can play any role with as much ease. He is wonderful, and I share a great camaraderie with him. He is really yet to get his due.”

When it comes to Naseer, there was news that Vidya had ticked off the moody actor during a shoot, bearing the brunt of his anger. However, Vidya rubbished the rumours, saying, “I have utmost respect for Naseer Sir and have learnt so much from him. He is an acting institution in himself, and nothing as such had happened. It was a serious shot in which I couldn’t control my laughter, due to which even he began to laugh. In fact, I could be the only one who made Naseeruddin Shah laugh,” she quipped.