VIDYA KNOWS CONTENT MATTERS MOST
Actor Vidya Balan says audiences are no longer up for watching anything in the name of cinema
Film stars might be demigods for many Bollywood lovers, but when it comes to spending their hard-earned money to catch films in theatres, the audience largely values content over anything else, even star power.
Vidya Balan, an actor who is known to pick projects with strong scripts than look for commercial success, agrees. “People are so prudent when it comes to spending time and money, so they put thoughts like ‘is it worth my time, money and energy to go to the theatre?’ and if they’ll get to experience something different,” says the actor, who has won hearts of critics and fans alike with films such as Paa (2009), The Dirty Picture (2011), Kahaani (2012), and her most recent, Tumhari Sulu (2017).
Vidya points out that film buffs no longer chase star value as “stars have become quite accessible now” through social media and when they promote their films on ground. “So, people no longer feel the need to go to a theatre to watch a star. They want to go into the theatre to experience a good film and characters.”
To back her statement that “content wins over anything else”, the actor gives the example of the controversial film Lipstick Under My Burkha (2017). “Of course, if had some established actors but despite all the controversies it was embroiled in, when it released, people watched it and it was a fairly successful film. It was a film about women’s sexuality, the kind you wouldn’t think will do really well, but it did! So, content is attracting people.”
A bankable actor, Vidya is hailed as “an actress who carries the film solely on her shoulders” or as some like to put it, the “traditional hero of a Bollywood flick”. Does that put any pressure on her? “I don’t look at it as any kind of a burden or responsibility,” says the 39-year-old, adding, “We work as a team and everyone is as important as an actor. And honestly, I don’t read much of what is printed in newspapers about how I fared in a film.”