“Indian cinema is much more than just song, dance and colour”

Vidya Balan talks about her experience of being in the jury at the Cannes film festival and working on her first comedy, Ghanchakkar. Q. So how was Cannes? A. Cannes was great because I got to attend a film festival and that too as a member of the jury, which meant that I was treated like royalty. Q. Where does Indian cinema rank compared to world cinema? A. A lot of our films deserve to be there. Today there is greater variety in Indian cinema in terms of content, treatment and even audience. That’s why all kinds of film are doing well. In the West, they have a certain perception of Indian cinema, that it is all song- dance- colour. I told them it is all of that and much more. Q. What drew you to Ghanchakkar? A. My character is quirky yet very real. She is a middle- class, Punjabi housewife whose life is about her house, her husband and her cooking. She wears these outlandish clothes but doesn’t know she is loud. She is very self- assured. I found that very endearing. Q. What kind of marriage does the film portray? A. The couple bickers sometimes and sometimes there is love. They have been married for five years so there is a level of comfort. She knows his habits, he knows hers. It is a comedy unfolding in real situations. Q. You are known to be a prankster on the sets... A. I don’t play obnoxious pranks. It is just a bit of masti. I feel that everyone should have a good time on the sets.