Vidya Balan transformed herself to fierce 'Begum Jaan' – Here’s how

Directed by Srijit Mukherji, the trailer of ‘Begum Jaan’ starring Vidya Balan was unveiled Tuesday and as expected, the actress’s performance left viewers speechless!

Mumbai: Powerhouse of talent – Vidya Balan – is an actor par excellence. She has been a part of films that have had no Khans to make them a Box Office success. Vidya has always been the Hero of her films! And now, the ‘Ishqiya’ star is all set to wow us once again in and as ‘Begum Jaan’.

Directed by Srijit Mukherji, the trailer of ‘Begum Jaan’ (an adaptation of Bengali film ‘Rajkahini’ with Rituparna Sengupta in the lead) was unveiled Tuesday and as expected, Vidya’s act left viewers speechless!

Interestingly, Vidya is very much unlike the intense characters she portrays on screen. During the trailer launch event, Mukherji revealed how Vidya completely transformed herself to no-nonsense brothel madam ‘Begum Jaan’.

"Before we started shooting 'Begum Jaan' we organised two workshops simultaneously. One with Vidya, another with girls... because Vidya is a jovial down-to-earth person and she easily mingles with everybody on set and I didn't want that. I wanted certain kind of distance with the girls from Vidya," he said at the trailer launch of the film.

"Vidya used to ask many questions during the workshop like what the memories of 'Begum Jaan' were when she was three, when she was first exploited or what happened when she got married. So at the end of the workshop, I had already completed writing four scripts... one 'Begum Jaan' and others are the prequels and sequels. I had to keep ready all the backstories of 'Begum Jaan' and the girls," added the 'Zulfiqar' helmer.

"After the workshop when Vidya entered the set, I saw 'Begum Jaan' who is a fierce, manipulative no-nonsense kind of woman, walking in. There was no trace of Vidya Balan," he told the media.

The National award-winning filmmaker said the ‘Kahani’ actress has an immense commitment towards her craft.

Vidya is portraying the character of a brothel madam, while Ila Arun, Gauahar Khan, Pallavi Sharda, Ridheema Tiwary, Ashish Vidyarthi, Chunky Pandey and Rajit Kapoor are portraying pivotal roles in the film.

The hard-hitting plot deals with the trauma of displaced women in a brothel during India's partition. While ‘Rajkahini’ was based in Bengal, ‘Begum Jaan’ is based out of Punjab.

Produced by Mukesh Bhatt, the film is scheduled for release on April 14.

(With IANS inputs)