I’m facially, bodily very Indian: Vidya

Actor Vidya Balan has experimented with different subjects in films such as Kahaani (2012), Kahaani 2 (2016), and her latest being Begum Jaan. Ask her if she signs a script that appeals to her personal self or based on the subjects’ saleability, and the 38-year-old says all she looks for is an appealing story. Her decision to do a film is “extremely personal”.

“I don’t take anyone’s advice. A script has to excite me and challenge me. I want to play a different person with every role that I take up. I want to tell a different story each time. Sometimes it will work, sometime it will not work. There is no formula,” says Vidya. “Over time, I realised that I have to do what appeals to me. If I think I will do a film that will appeal to 100 people, it is possible that the way it turns out, it may not appeal to even one person ... That’s been my strategy throughout, if you can call that a strategy. Yet, I’m saying I’m human. There are days and times when you feel insecure and vulnerable as actors,” says Vidya.

Some characters she has essayed on screen have been quite rooted and earthy, with an old world charm, an Indian appeal. “I think it comes most naturally to me, maybe because I romanticise everything India. I’m facially, bodily very Indian. Also, I like everything Indian. I don’t know how to describe it. I am shamelessly patriotic. I take great pride in being an Indian because we are a great nation – with a great history, heritage, culture and values,” says Vidya. ■

I romanticise everything India. I’m shamelessly patriotic. We are a great nation with a great history, heritage, culture and values VIDYA BALAN, ACTOR

PHOTO: PRAMOD THAKUR/HT