I was in a relationship, but he wasn’t Shahid: Vidya Balan

These days Vidya Balan is looking far prettier than she has ever looked. Her intense eyes sparkle with mirth, and her wide smile tells the story of a gratifying existence. Vidya, in her own words, is “herself” these days and has quit being someone else. May be that’s making the difference! In a candid interview with Spicezee’s Swati Chaturvedi in her celebrity chat show ‘Kahiye Janab’, Vidya Balan opened up about her upcoming film ‘Ishqiya’, romance with Shahid Kapur and love for SRK. Swati: Vidya, you are doing a film called ‘Ishqiya’, which is about ‘Ishq’(love) but what about real-life love? Vidya: What do I say; I have always been in search for that special someone but that has not happened. (Laughs) Maybe after ‘Ishqiya’, love will enter my life. Swati: It is being said that you have used indecent language in the film, which doesn’t go with your image. You have a girl-next-door kind of image and even your endorsements portray you as a simple girl, then what made you go for such a character? Vidya: I play a character whose social background and upbringing is such that she uses indecent language. I am afraid I can’t divulge too much. I took up ‘Ishqiya’ because as an actor I don’t set limitations. Luckily, I balance meaningful cinema with commercial fairly well. I got an opportunity to explore a new horizon with this film. My character in the film is completely different from what you have seen me playing onscreen so far. Joy and satisfaction lies in this. If you set limitations for yourself in work, then your job becomes mundane. But if you go uninhibited, you enjoy it. I have moved out of my comfort zone for the film, which has been very fulfilling. Swati: How did the film happen? How did Vishal Bhardwaj convince you to play the lead role in the film? Vidya: Well, he didn’t convince me, I agreed to the role immediately after listening to the script. Vishal called me up and said that there is a script and Abhishek Chaubey will narrate it. Normally, I listen to a script twice but in this case, I had made up my mind during the first session itself. It is a very challenging role for any actor, especially for me because the ten films that I have done, I had mostly played the girl-next-door kind of roles. In this I had to shed all inhibitions, which I had gathered doing similar kind of roles. I worked on my dialect and the whole process was very exciting. Swati: You are an outsider in the industry and may be that’s why you faced a lot of bad press. You were criticised for looking older than your co-stars, bad dress sense and all that. How did you bear it all? Vidya: I felt one thing – people care about me. My existence matters – this thought was very reassuring for me. I agree I did things which did not suit me. I was fortunate to have faced such criticism because then I realized, what I want to do and what I should not. Swati: What are the things you don’t want to do? Vidya: See, I was just trying to be someone else. I am different and now, I happily accept myself the way I am. If people were angry with me, it was because they wanted to remind me – ‘You are different, why don’t you be different’. Swati: Do you think you have always been targeted for being an outsider with no backing? Vidya: I don’t think on those lines – no filmy backing or joining camps etc. What matters to me is my family. It is my biggest support and ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi’ God is always with me. Swati: Aren’t you angry with Shahid Kapur? Were you in a relationship with him? Vidya: Yes, there was a relationship. He was my friend, my co-star. Swati: Shahid has told me that you are not his friend and he doesn’t want anything to do with you.Vidya: I don’t know how he defines friendship. But I will definitely say that during the making of ‘Kismat Konnection’ we were friends. I got along with him very well, but there was no romance or love. Swati: Shahid also said that he doesn’t want to work with Vidya Balan. Your take on this? Vidya: It’s his choice, really. I don’t feel bad. If he had been the only actor in Indian cinema then it would have mattered. I have admitted that I was in a relationship, which I didn’t want to carry on after a point. With due respect to the person, to myself, I don’t want to divulge more. But he wasn’t Shahid. Swati: You have been linked with all your co-stars – John, Saif or Shahid. Why? Vidya: Well, I have always been targeted because I am single. If I was in a relationship with them, then why was I not seen publicly with them even once? Swati: But why are you not seeing your co-stars or anyone? Vidya: (Laughs) Because all of them are hooked, booked and cooked and I don’t want to get into a messy situation. There are many eligible bachelors around, I am not meeting them, but hope is always there. Swati: Which of your co-stars do you admire, in terms of looks? Vidya: All my co-stars are good looking but I love Shah Rukh Khan, although I have never acted with him. There is something magical about him. From my school days, I used to admire Shah Rukh and now I hope to work with him. Swati: You are looking so beautiful these days. Please tell our female audience how did you manage to lose so much weight? Vidya: Earlier, I used to exercise but skipped meals, which crashed my metabolism. Instead of losing, I started putting on weight. My trainer sent me to a dietician to balance it and that’s how my weight came under control. Swati: Any bigger dream than you are living these days… Vidya: I am being offered very exciting roles. I just hope to keep doing such roles. ‘Paa’ did well; I wish that all my films do well. Adapted by: Shivangi Singh