1 week Ago By Firstpost
Vidya Balan has had a topsy turvy career in these nearly two decades. With Parineeta and Lage Raho Munna Bhai , she proved to be a solid and reliable performer that had the charm and the screen presence to pull the characters off. With Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection , she went off the rails, only resurrecting herself with the delicious Ishqiya , the rollicking The Dirty Picture , and the gripping Kahaani .
Oh yes, in between, there was this film called Bhool Bhulaiyaa! Who can forget her as Manjulika! She basically played the role of Avni, emphatic towards this gorgeous and mysterious woman whose spirit haunts the haveli all the idiosyncratic characters reside in. It’s a film for the ages that has now bloomed into a franchise. She went missing in part two but returned with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 that is quickly becoming the next blockbuster of the year.
And Balan has all the reasons to be elated, jubilant, and proud. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actress opened up on coming back as Manjulika, working with Madhuri Dixit and Anees Bazmee, how Ishqiya was the film that made her fall in love with her craft all over again, and the importance of box-office. Edited excerpts from the interview You came back to Akshay Kumar in Heyy Babyy, Sanjay Dutt in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Abhishek Bachchan in Paa, and now in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3.
How does it feel? (Laughs). Most number of comebacks I believe. It feels great that I have comeback to Bhool Bhulaiyaa after 17 years, it’s been fantastic, it’s being loved and I’m basking in all the love.
You’re also dancing on Amije Tomar after so many years. Was it surreal? It was nostalgic that I had to reprise the song. The upped the challenge by saying ‘Not only are you reprising the song but you are going to be doing it with Madhuri Dixit.
’ So I felt like it was a new twist but I enjoyed doing it. I worked hard towards it because I don’t see myself as a dancer honestly. I enjoyed dancing with Madhuri maam and it was lovely; and the kind of love I have been receiving for the song oh my god.
It’s very nostalgic. What has kept the popularity of Bhool Bhulaiyaa alive even after 17 years? I think it’s the fact that it is not stagnant and the fact that it is moving forward. When you see part three, it is a step forward in so many ways.
I don’t want to give out any spoilers for all of those who have not seen the film, it has kept up with the times. So when do you know a film has aged well? When people still watch it. If you talk about Bhool Bhulaiyaa, people still watch it on its many television reruns and also on OTT.
Also, when you don’t get bored while watching it. 17 years and it’s still really fun. The inimitable @vidya_balan speaks exclusively to #Firstpost on the success of #BhoolBhulaiyaa 3, returning to the franchise as Manjulika, working with @MadhuriDixit and @BazmeeAnees , and how Ishqiya made her fall in love with her craft all over again.
#VidyaBalan #KartikAaryan pic.twitter.com/8tT0gON3Qs Avni was an emotional and empathetic character but Mallika is unpredictable and enigmatic.
Do you still see any similarities between the two women? Not really, I think they are quite different. Avni was unaware of what was happening to her, Mallika seemed more in charge to me. She was like the woman of the world.
I really liked your chemistry with Madhuri Dixit. What was the prep like? There was no prep, we just landed on the sets together. Even for the song, we didn’t rehearse together.
She’s a very kind and generous person and I’ve been in love with her forever. I was really excited and we just vibed. One of my fave scenes from the film is when she laughs and then I laugh.
So many people have mentioned that to me and I’m so happy about it. It happened like that. We just did one rehearsal with all of us and that’s it.
You’ve worked with Anees Bazmee before in a small role in Thank You. This time it was a full fledged role; how’s he as a director? He’s amazing. I feel he’s the king of entertainment.
I think he gets the pulse of the audience. He’s a master writer and a master storyteller and a master director. I enjoyed working with him and learned a lot by seeing the way he makes a scene hold.
He’s constantly trying to figure out what he can do to grab your attention in every scene. I absolutely loved working with him. What did you feel about the character of Manjulika when you first read it back in 2007? I loved it.
I had seen the original Malayalam film as a teenager and it had stayed with me so I couldn’t believe I would get to do this in Hindi. I loved how that was a psychological thriller and comedy but I’m glad that within Bhool Bhulaiyaa we have moved into the space of horror comedy. You have done such a variety of comedy.
There’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Ghanchakkar, Shaadi Ke Side Effects, Tumhari Sullu. Is this one genre that allows actors to be a lot more versatile? Now that you are saying this, I’ve been saying that I haven’t had the opportunity to do an out and out comedy which I would love to do. But now you make me realize I have done a little bit of it.
I’m dying to do an out and out comedy. Comedy is just delicious yaar , to watch and to play. Two of my most favorite roles of yours are Ishqiya and The Dirty Picture.
Both the characters are so seductive and glorious; what are your memories of these women? Ishqiya was the film that made me fall in love with what I was doing all over again. Until Ishqiya, I was playing a certain kind of heroine on screen and suddenly with this film, I got to play a femme fatale, something very different from what I had been doing. I had gone through a low before this because I had received a lot of brickbats for the way I looked in Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection and all that and I thought this is not my scene.
When Ishqiya happened, I just savored that. I loved working with Abhishek Chaubey and Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah. It unleashed a new facet of me as an actor and The Dirty Picture took that notches higher.
But I think they are very different women, Krishna and Silk. Krishna is smoldering whereas Silk is in your face and brazen. I would love to do something like that again.
For all those who think or used to think infidelity is the only deal breaker in a relationship or marriage, you have given them Ghanchakkar where a marriage gets sour due to the husband’s memory loss, Shaadi Ke Side Effects where the man was running away from fatherhood and in Do Aur Do Pyaar, the spice in a couple’s life has gone away. How do you bring these different characters out dealing with the same conflict? I haven’t really. I’m just a greedy actor who chooses the scripts that give me those opportunities.
I think there are some very interesting scripts being written. I am open to listening to all kinds of stories. I always say this that send me a synopsis and if I like it, I’ll be happy to listen to the narration of the script because you never know when you’ll find a gem.
Do Aur Do Pyaar is a film I’m very very proud of. I feel sad that people did not go to the theatres to watch it, but whoever has watched it has loved it. And I hope over time more and more people watch it because it’s so relatable, especially in India where marriage is so sacrosanct.
People stay together a lot of times because they don’t want to break a marriage but sometimes it also forces people to rekindle their relationship. Not everybody is lucky to do that, but in this case, the couple does and I love it. I am just a greedy actor who grabs such opportunities.
Don’t you feel it is unfortunate that so much emphasis these days is laid on Box Office collections? Not at all because I feel we are in the business of cinema and we need to get the money back to keep it rolling. Commercial success is very very crucial. It’s great that today we have the avenue of the OTT platform, but when you make a theatrical film, returns are important.
That’s the only way by which we can keep the ball rolling..
