Looking back: It’s a wonderful life

Actor Vidya Balan says Bollywood gave her more than what she had hoped for

NEW DELHI: Having ventured into Bollywood with Parineeta in 2005, actor Vidya Balan said she has got much more than what she had hoped for. As she completes 11 years in filmdom, the diva is grateful for the opportunities that came her way.

“At one time in life, I wanted just one film release. I would have been happy if I had that one release. I can’t believe I have been around for 11 years and done all the films that I have been a part of and worked with the people I have looked up to,” Vidya said.

Her tryst with showbiz began as the bespectacled Radhika of the TV sitcom Hum Paanch.

Her role in Parineeta was a major departure from the clumsy Radhika to the demure Lalita, and from then on, there was no looking back.

She tasted success with path-breaking films such as Paa, Kahaani, Ishqiya and No One Killed Jessica, and also faced failure with movies such as Ghanchakkar and Shaadi Ke Side Effects.



“I got great opportunities for myself as an actor, and have got so much appreciation. I feel humbled and blessed,” added Vidya, who won the Indian National Film Award for Best Actress for her bold avatar as Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture.

While she has a cameo in the Amitabh Bachchan-starrer TE3N, she has also done a special appearance for Marathi film Ekk Albela, her debut in the genre.

“I had always wanted to do a Marathi film. I have been born and brought up in Mumbai. I am very familiar with the Maharashtrian culture,” she said. “I have grown up watching Marathi films on Saturday evenings.



My mother used to watch them and I also watched a lot of them,” Vidya said, pointing out how “somewhere in your work, you bring in the influences from your personal life”.

In Ekk Albela, which is about the life of actor-director Bhagwan Dada, Vidya plays veteran actor Geeta Bali.

“The fabulous part is that it’s a special appearance as Geeta Bali, someone whom I find extremely charming and effervescent,” said the Padma Shri winner.

“It’s quite a coincidence that two films that I am doing have a special appearance and are releasing in the same month ... I think June is a special month,” quipped the actor, who has also worked alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui in TE3N.

Previously, Vidya has worked with stars such as Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan, Emraan Haashmi, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan. But she has yet to share screen space with Bollywood’s top three Khans, Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir.

When asked if we are seeing that happen anytime soon, she said, “I don’t know really. I don’t think about it because I guess I am very happy with the kind of work I am doing. I don’t think about what I haven’t done or have yet to do.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2016.

Like Life & Style on Facebook, follow @ETLifeandStyle on Twitter for the latest in fashion, gossip and entertainment.