When a still from the song Akalathey from the latest Ajith hit, Nerkonda Paarvai, had come out first featuring Thala with none other than Vidya Balan, we’d been excited even though we knew that the renowned actor has only a small role in the movie. She is excited too, and just the lady’s charm makes us wish she would become a more common feature on the Kollywood landscape. Here is what happened when we caught up with the distinguished Vidya Balan.
Run, Manasellam, the MS Subbulakshmi biopic, Kaala, Kabali – Your name has been involved in quite a lot of famous Tamil movies in the past. You have been in and out of a few projects. Did you ever think, ‘a Tamil movie is never going to happen.’?
It was at the very start of my career that I tested for Run. I didn’t get selected, but, no hard feelings about that. I shot for around 5 or 6 days for the movie Manasellam before getting replaced. It was heartbreaking at the time, but over the time, I realised it was all for the best. I was committed to doing the MS Subbalakshmi biopic with Rajeev Menon. But unfortunately, there’s been some speed breakers in that project and I don’t know if it will ever get done. But to me, Subbalakshmi’s voice, the way she sang... there was a certain dignity to her, even in the way she looked. I would have loved to play her, but that is not happening.
Were both Kaala and Kabali offered to you? There were quite a lot of speculations that you turned down the offer citing dates issue. Can you shed more light on this?
I was not offered Kaala, but I was offered Kabali. We were working for Kahani-2 at the same time and I simply juggle the dates in any way. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to work for Kabali. As for having lost other films, I don’t think about it. I get offered a lot of movies. Some I accept, some don’t work out. I don’t talk about it.
Tumhari Sulu is a special film in your career. Did you watch its Tamil remake?
I’m happy that Jyothika did the Tamil version, but I haven’t watched it yet. I’ve heard from people that she’s lovely – she's a lovely actor and it is not surprising at all. I’d like to watch it someday.
Do you watch Tamil films often? If yes, what are your recent and evergreen favourites?
I haven’t been watching too many Tamil films because in Mumbai, Tamil movies release in very few theatres and it is not very easy to plan according to the show timings. Now, the movies all release on online platforms, so I’ll be able to watch whatever I want to whenever I want to.
How was your experience, shooting for Nerkonda Paarvai? Your portion in Nerkonda Paarvai is probably what separates this film from the original Pink; how long will your portion be? Will your portion be a distraction? Won’t a love track dilute the overall impact of the film?
I was there for a few days only, but it was a lovely experience: It was a very relaxed atmosphere. We were shooting this song called Akalathe. Director Vinod is a quiet, but sharp person. Of course, it was lovely to work with Ajith. It was a great experience. I can’t tell you about it, but my portion is a back story and it is very different from the back story given in the Hindi version. It provides some answers. If at all it is a distraction, I hope it will be a welcome reaction.
The toughest role and movie that you have been part of till date?
Invariably, whichever movie I’m working on is the toughest. But I do think Dirty Picture was very different for me because Silk Smitha and I are very different as people. That is what made it challenging and fullfilling also. Siddharth Roy Kapoor was once seen actively producing Tamil movies.
Why don’t we see him here anymore?
He has just set up a production house called Roy Kapoor films. He's produced two Hindi films. One film called Sky Is Pink with Priyanka Chopra, Farhan Akthar, Zair Waseem, is releasing on October 11. There's another movie that he has produced called Yeh Ballet. I think it is an exciting journey for him and I’m sure he will produce films in all the south languages in future. I can’t speak for him, but He loves cinema and I think at some point he will venture into languages other than Hindi. We know you like knowing people better.
How much of Ajith do you know that we don’t know yet?
I don’t know how you know about Ajith. And I don’t know how much I know about him. We had conversations and it was lovely talking to Ajith; it was just really nice, chatting with him about various things.
We know you are a Rajini fan and we also know that you hate to wear attires in sky blue colour. What if you are offered to play the lead in Rajini’s next, provided you like the script, you don’t have to adjust your dates for it but with one condition that you need to wear a sky blue saree? Rajini film or blue? Which one would you reject?
I can’t believe you actually know that I hate sky blue! (laughing). Of course ill wear sky blue to work with Rajini sir. I’ll wear sky blue in every scene if they wanted me to. (laughs)
