Yesterday was like a river in spate. Creativity was at its prime. Poets, professors, artists, musicians - men from disparate backgrounds were drawn to the magical world of movies. Passion coursed through their veins. They had stories to tell. Of love and loss. And, at the centre of all their adulation was the Indian Heroine. Through the '50s and '60s they wrote stories for her that were more shrines in her honour and they presented her with rare incandescence because, for many of them it was a labour of love. In film after film they immortalised her. Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nargis, Sadhana and Nutan, giving them a life forever....

Today, it's like the river ran dry. Memories of yesterday are nothing but a faint watermark. A measure of how far we've fallen. Films are either "Fulltoo Time-Pass" or tired tales warmed up again and again.

And what of the Indian Heroine? She's the worst casualty of our time. In this age of aggression, of 'Emancipation' and the 'War of the Sexes', she's been turned into just a sexual being. Her in-your-face sexuality has transformed her into something of a predator. Today, all that young actresses desire is to grow up to be 'Helen Aunty'. The ultimate measure of your desirability is to be invited to do an 'item number'. They're recycling Helen's songs with rather alarming consequences. Almost everybody today is killing you softly with his interpretation of a classic.

You could understand the ambivalence one felt, when earlier against this backdrop, Pradeep Sarkar announced he was remaking the Bimal Roy classic, Parineeta, with a model and small-time actress called Vidya Balan, who, till yesterday, sold low-cost detergent on TV. What's the guy doing? Trying to sail paper boats in the deep blue sea?

But Sarkar persevered.

And despite the initial hiccups, Parineeta got made. And hit the theatres…. What happened next was unprecedented.

Pradeep Sarkar's exquisitely nuanced Parineeta (married woman) was like a whisper. She took your breath away. Wasn't she the one you were seeking all along, without even knowing it? It was like she had stepped out of time. She had the same, clear-eyed luminescence of Waheeda Rehman. The quite intimacy of her gaze and that searing sense of self and grace reminded you of a time lost.

The euphoria over Vidya Balan's arrival was cathartic. She swept every Best Debut award in the country. And film-makers began fashioning spaces for her in their films. Vinod Chopra Productions snapped her up for their sequel to the iconic Munnabhai MBBS and Eklavya with Amitabh Bachchan. Nikhil Advani signed her opposite John Abraham for his Salaam-E-Ishq, 'Mani Sir' called in from down South adding her to the cast of his Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai starrer, Guru. Priyadarshan's signed her in a Tamil remake in which she plays a slightly schizophrenic woman who imagines she was a dancer in her past life…. If they untangle some of the knots, she may be doing Pritish Nandy's Raahgir, a remake of Guide…. Subhash Ghai's keen on signing her up for his next...

She's not just the flavour of the season. She is the season.

That's why, it's not easy to meet her. She's everywhere and nowhere. You see her on events on TV, she's on the grapevine in the papers. She's travelling to a city a day, doing promotions, inaugurations, films! It's hard to catch her mid-flight…Finally, we decide to rendezvous at Fame Adlabs (Andheri), the next day, where she's meeting the winners of a 'Munnabhai SMS contest'.

There is thunder and lightning and driving rain. You realise how larger than life the Film Screen makes you, when you finally meet Vidya Balan. She's seated on a gargantuan black leather chair. So petite, no more than a sparrow! But she lights up the day with that familiar sunshine smile. There's a battery of cameramen out to shoot one more 'Vidya Balan's day out on the town' and she poses good-naturedly for each one of them.

"I'm so hungry!" she whispers over her shoulder. It's a little after two and Vidya's skipped breakfast. "All of yesterday at Delhi, I ate out and you know the soda they put in the North Indian food, I'm bloated to twice my size!" she says.

The SMS winners get their pictures with VB and then we can leave. Out of nowhere, an army of security men descends on us and forms a protective ring around VB, as she's escorted to the elevator. It's an interesting frame, balancing on her stilettos, frail and hungry, surrounded by the blue-clad men. She reminds me of Anarkali in Mughal-E-Azam as she takes her last walk from Prince Salim's court. Only difference is, for Anarkali, it was the endgame; Vidya Balan's journey has just begun.

We're looking for somewhere we can talk, and she can eat undisturbed. "How about the Subway stall at Infinity Mall?" she suggests. And her secretary, Sanjay, slaps his forehead. "You want to be mobbed! It's a Sunday!" Then to me, " She just hasn't a clue…." So we drive around looking for a quiet café where they don't know who VB is. We zero in on one that's bang opposite Dariya Mahal - the sprawling seafront property that pretended to be Jhanvi's home in Lage Raho…. "I'm in love with the place," Vidya tells me. I tried getting the owner to marry me, but he's too old. And the son is too little," she laughs.

Down at the café there are three people sipping their coffees. And they know VB. But they are discreet.

We pull up chairs. I offer her the one facing the mirror. It's a little princess and the pea test. A true actor will establish an instant connection with the mirror. And Vidya does. As soon as she polishes off her rice and curry, she sits back to gaze at herself in the mirror. "Oh God! I have got such a tan in Goa," she says. (She was there shooting for Salaam-E-Ishq with John Abraham. And, it's said they sizzled.) All through the interview she dips her chin, examines her profile, pulls back her curls, drops them down again.

I start with the obvious one.

You must hold the record for doing the maximum number of screen tests for Parineeta. Didn't you feel like telling Vinod Chopra to go take a hike after a point?
Let me tell you, there were many, but not the 40 screen tests that you hear of. (Laughs.) The thing is, I'd approached Parineeta with a lot of self-doubt. I had done two films down South, and both never saw completion. In fact I'd been dubbed a jinx there!

Then, with my English/Sociology background, I was finding it hard to come to terms with Lolita's character. Why would a woman wait so long for a man? I didn't understand her silence. But after several discussions with Dada (Sarkar), I came to understand that silence can be a sign of strength. The most extreme form of rebellion. Once I got a clasp on that, I could internalise Lolita's journey.

How hard was it to work with a hyper producer like Vidhu Vinod Chopra breathing down your neck?
That's a fallacy. Never once did he even visit our sets. In fact, I met him for the first time when he signed me on. And to return to your earlier question, his asking for more screen tests didn't annoy me because I understood. I was a newcomer and Vinod Chopra was spending so much money on the film. He had to be convinced I could be Parineeta. She had to be all woman. And stunning enough for two men to be completely in love with her.

So, how did you ride the final bump on the road?
With lots of help! Saif, very sweetly, agreed to test with me. He saw the hysteria around me, because by now the entire Vinod Chopra productions, Dada's unit, everyone was rooting for me. We were to do the Raat akeli thi and the Piya bole numbers and everyone, from the hairstylist, to the make-up man, the light man, the ADs were shouting out last-minute instructions…. They wanted so much to see me succeed. But all I could hear was a buzzing in my head. Saif took me aside. Calmed me down. He said, 'Vidya, remember there's just one director. Listen to him.' And finally, that's what I did.

How much of the self-assurance we saw on screen was because Pradeep Sarkar was your director and you had faith in him?
All of it. Completely. You know people misunderstood our relationship initially, but you have to understand his level of commitment to his work. It's hard to explain. Unique. It's the same thing that Aamir has for his films. He dreams of them, travels with them all over the world. Dada lived with Parineeta for two years. He would hold script-reading sessions. If he found a location, he would herd us all there to get the feel. Internalise it. Saif was shooting for Hum Tum, I remember. Dada would land up at his sets and wait till he agreed to go with him and familiarise himself with not just the scenes but even the location. He saw every frame with great clarity. How could you not trust a man like that?

What was it like shooting with Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan, the original 'cool dudes' of mainstream cinema?
Let's face it. People came to see Parineeta because of them. Who knew Vidya Balan?

Were you the obvious choice for Lage Raho Munnabhai?
Oh no! They gave me a screen test. Just one this time! (Laughs.) But this was because Jhanvi was to be a radio jockey. She had to be not just contemporary but she had to have a voice a man could fall in love with. Because that's what happens with Munnabhai.

Going forward from here, how are you going to preserve this unique quality you have? There could be the temptation to do an edgy, Priyanka Chopra, in pursuit of diversity....
I wouldn't want to discuss anybody else's work, because we each do what we think we're good at. As for me, I would like to do different roles, try something new, but I would have to see that it doesn't compromise my integrity. But to insist on doing the same Vidya Balan kind of roles would be very limiting. Both for me as an actress and for my viewers.

Of your contemporaries whose work do you admire most?
I think Tabu and Rani (Mukerji) are doing great work. Rani has managed to keep that balance you were talking about. She's never compromised with who she is. And Tabu is in a league by herself. She's such an exceptional talent.

What was it like working with Aishwarya Rai in Guru?
I didn't really get to work with her because I'm paired opposite Madhavan - but she still came to my make-up van to tell me how much she liked me in Parineeta…. I did get to watch her off the sets - and she's an exceptionally sorted out person. She's such a huge star, and yet there are just no airs…she's the same with everyone. From the spot-boy to the director. Warm and down-to-earth.

How seriously does her family take her new-found stardom?
My family puts life in perspective! If I drop something on the floor, I'm still made to clean up. Recently, I showed dad what I thought was a beautiful photograph of mine and he said, 'There's something vital missing in your eyes'.

We return to the Vidya Balan season. Is it true that you're in every new film that's being announced?
So we hear. But it's not really true. There are so many films I'd like to do but it's becoming hard trying to sort out the dates.

Horror of horrors, one of the films she may not be able to do may be mentor, Pradeep Sarkar's next for the prestigious Yash Chopra banner…. Sanjay, who's sitting a discreet mile away, ear permanently glued to his mobile, now joins us. He whispers in my ear that Rakeysh Mehra (of Rang De Basanti fame) is going to sign Vidya for his next film opposite Abhishek Bachchan. "But don't tell her. Rakeysh wants to tell her himself."

"Come on now, what is it?" she wants to know.

"It's a surprise," I say. "Is it a man?" she laughs. "Does he speak Bangla? Wear crisp white kurta pyjamas. Will he read poetry to me?" I inform her that her ideal man sounds uncannily like Gulzar Saheb and she laughs, "Wouldn't that be great!"

Truth is in her head, Vidya Balan does live in the '50s. She's in love with Satyajit Ray. And all day, listens to stories from the past of which Sanjay has an unending stock. Just recently, he took Vidya to meet Waheeda Rehman. Nothing in particular. Just a homage, to thank her for being who she was, all those years. "She was fabulous," gushes Vidya.

It has stopped raining. And Vidya's headed home. For a hug. " I haven't been able to spend any time with mum and dad all of last week. I need a recharge."

She enters her giant, spanking-new Toyota. And again is lost in its vast interiors.
Can't help but smile.
Why do you think He's called the God of Small Things?
Under His watch,
A diminutive Mahatma could take on the combined might of Krrish and KANK at the box-office
And then there's the petite Vidya Balan. Who's kicked up such a storm.
Today, quite literally.