Vidya Balan recently spoke about what Bhool Bhulaiyaa means to her career, the lack of female-led comedy films and why women need to make their mark in the entertainment industry.
In the last 15-20 years, there have been very few artists in Hindi cinema who have made a greater impact than Vidya Balan in terms of writing female characters. From her first film itself, Vidya has shown a tendency to play strong characters and has won the trust of filmmakers with her strong acting. Recently, Vidya was seen in the third film of the Bhool Bhulaiyaa franchise, which began in 2007 with her in the lead role.
In fact, Vidya told news agency PTI in a recent interview that director Priyadarshan’s film Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a remake of the 1993 Malayalam classic Mani Chithrathazhu, established her as an actor who can play complex characters. Vidya said, “People realized that there is another aspect (to me). I don’t know if it was inspired by that or not, but Ishqiya came to me after that. When people see you doing different things, the possibilities open up in their minds.” She said that the success of the Priyadarshan-directed film definitely inspired many people to consider her for their films. However, she told that her father still complains that Bhool Bhulaiyaa did not win her any major awards.
“But it’s okay. I won most of the awards in the next four years,” said Vidya, who has given stellar performances in films like Paa (2009), Ishqiya (2010), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012).
Vidya, who has had mixed success at the box office in the last decade, is currently enjoying the success of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, which has crossed the Rs 200 crore mark in India. Talking about working with Priyadarshan in the first part and Anees Bazmee in the third, Vidya said that “Both of them trust their actors. When I read the third part, I thought it was very funny. With Anees bhai being the director, I thought it could be even better.” Talking about the comedy of both the filmmakers, she said, “I think Anees bhai is a director who knows how to grab the attention of the audience and keep them engaged in every scene. He is also very gentle in editing, he knows how to keep it tight and how to keep the audience engaged and entertained.”
Interestingly, Vidya revealed that she re-watched Bhool Bhulaiyaa to re-watch Manjulika’s dancing Payal. “It’s been 10-15 years since I watched the film and I loved it. I watch my films once in a while,” Vidya said. She further revealed that she re-watched Parineeta last year after Pradeep Sarkar’s demise.
Vidya said that she feels that not all films are made for critical analysis. Vidya said, “I didn’t read the reviews, because this is not a film you read reviews for.” She also expressed her interest in doing comedy films, especially those directed by women.
“There were films like Tanu Weds Manu, Piku and Tumhari Sulu. But only three films? I am desperate to do more films like Sita Aur Geeta and Chaalbaaz,” said Vidya. Vidya feels that the current culture is not allowing women to make fun of themselves. “There is too much sensitivity. I think for comedy you have to break the rules, you have to make fun of yourself and therefore others. We need to take ourselves less seriously.”
In fact, Vidya emphasised that the change in approach should not be just for comedy films but for women-centric films in general. Vidya said, “We girls are having fun and that should show on screen. We are stuck in the same place in that field, there needs to be some change.” She reiterated that women should take charge of the field and take up exciting content and tell their own stories. The determined actor also expressed that she does not like to see women in action films. She said, “If it is part of the story, it is okay. Anyway, I do not like action films. Female-led action films should have more substance. There are certain things that are unique to us and we should embrace them.”
Vidya Balan told about how Bhool Bhulaiyaa propelled her career: ‘I want to do films like Chaalbaaz, Seeta and Geeta’
