It’s been six months since she started shooting for The Dirty Picture and Vidya Balan admits that she’s still in character. She reasons that’s because they wrapped up filming only on November 5, after which she got busy with the dubbing and in the last few weeks has been busy promoting the film,
often alone, since co-stars Emraan Hashmi and Tusshar Kapoor have been busy filming Jannat 2 and Kya Super Kool Hain Hum. Her third co-star Naseeruddin Shah isn’t open to promotional interactions. “So Silk is still in me,” she smiles.
Vidya took a rare day off on November 22 to celebrate her mother Saraswati’s 60th birthday. “On Sunday, we’d hosted a dinner at our Chembur house for almost a 100 guests, it was a welcome break,” says the actor, who has been going around in snazzy saris and ’80s bellbottoms in her Silk avatar, taking people by surprise by winking at Amitabh Bachchan on KBC 5 and unabashedly swinging ‘live’ to an Oo La La… on stage.
She admits that people aren’t used to seeing her this way but she’s happy that despite her initial apprehensions, she took on the challenge: “Lalita (Parineeta, 2005) and Krishna (Ishqiya, 2010) were perceived as sensuous while Silk is sexy because this time, the boldness is more sensual, whether it’s the dance moves, the clothes or the body language.”
Point out that the sex symbol tag could stick and she shrugs, “I hope people connect with Silk and enjoy her unapologetic, uninhibited sexuality. But I’m sure when Kahani comes along in January, they will be as receptive to the six-months pregnant woman who takes on the world in search of her husband. Usually a woman-centric film like this revolves around the supernatural, but there’s nothing other-wordly about this thriller, it’s very real and raw.”
She admits that even though it’s been six years since Parineeta (2005), people still love Lalita, along with Vidya (Paa, 2009) and Krisna (Ishqiya, 2010). “I hope they’ll remember Silk too but not just as a sex symbol,” she says. “There’s more to her than just her titillating item numbers.”
