Veteran of over 80 ad films, Vidya Balan, has caused a flutter with a powerful performance in her first Hindi movie, Parineeta

She’s still a little overwhelmed and who can blame her? After all, actor, Vidya Balan’s very first feature film, Parineeta, opened at the prestigious International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) in Amsterdam this June. “The Pathé Tuschinski Theatre is 650 years old. Just think – a period film premiering at a place like that!” Clearly, poetic justice is not lost on her.

Then again, Balan seems to be grounded in every other way as well. She makes no bones about how hard she worked to get where she has. “I am more proud of having proved my credibility and earned the role than I am of any accolades I’ve received since the movie released,” she says, matter-of-factly.

Parineeta was like a dream and her admiration for both Sarkar and producer, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, increased tenfold when, after rigorous testing, she was finally offered the lead role over a more obviously saleable star. “They worked to get me to that place where I would be believable as Lolita.”

No doubt it helped that she identified with aspects of the character herself. “Lolita is the epitome of womanhood,” says Balan, with passion. “She’s strong, resilient. She helped me explore every aspect of being a woman.” Being a woman also meant being a lover. How did she feel about the intimate scenes with co-stars, Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt? “I agreed to do those scenes because I believed they were integral to the story and because I trusted my director and cameramen. And Saif and Sanjay made me feel comfortable,” she says, adding with a laugh, “In fact, Sanjay was so shy, he closed his eyes until the cameras were turned on and then ran downstairs after each shot!”

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