Two decades into her career, Vidya Balan continues to be a force to be reckoned with — unpredictable, unforgettable, and unapologetically herself. From Parineeta, Paa, The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, to Tumhari Sulu, Sherni and Jalsa, she’s built a remarkable legacy – marked by unconventional choices – that’s as layered as it is fearless.
Gracing the latest cover of Filmfare in a bold new look, Vidya reminds us why she continues to stay relevant and real. In an unfiltered, no-holds-barred conversation with Jitesh Pillai, Editor-In-Chief, Filmfare, the actress gets candid about everything from beauty standards to personal reinvention. She also revisits the choices that shaped her and the moments that tested her resolve, baring it all like never before.
Recalling her first reaction to R Balki offering her the role of Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in Paa, she admits with a smile, “I thought R Balki had lost it. He said he wanted Abhishek and me to play Mr Bachchan’s parents. It sounded absurd. But then he read me the script, and something shifted. I kept revisiting it, and the actor in me kept saying, ‘Do it.’”
Looking back at one of her toughest professional calls – turning down Pradeep Sarkar’s Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Vidya reflects, “Pradeep da didn’t speak to me for two or three years. I kept calling, but he wouldn’t respond. I think he felt, ‘You should’ve trusted I’d make something of it.’ But the story just didn’t speak to me. It felt dated. Saying no to Dada was incredibly hard. I carried that guilt. Later, he offered me another film, which I also turned down. Eventually, we drifted away.”
Revisiting the industry’s early attempts to change her, she reveals, “Vidhu Vinod Chopra said, ‘Your nose is too long, let’s get a surgery done.’ I refused. I’ve never had anything done to my face — just the odd facial. I’ve always believed in keeping my face the way God made it.”
Opening up about a moment she almost gave up her last name, she recounts, “During a Malayalam film, they suggested I drop ‘Balan’ and use my community’s name — like Manju Warrier or Samyuktha Varma. I changed it to Vidya Iyer… and cried. My parents reminded me I’d always be Vidya Balan. That film didn’t happen anyway. That’s when I knew: if something doesn’t feel right, it’s not meant to be.”
Despite Parineeta being a breakthrough, Vidya didn’t have it easy with ‘top directors’. She recounts, “Parineeta was a massive success. Top directors started calling. But at photoshoots, they’d say, ‘Let’s try something new with you,’ and I’d think, ‘What have you even seen of me to want something new?’ They’d say, ‘Let’s make you look younger and sexy.’ I was open to experimenting, but after a while, it got frustrating.”
On the surprising way marriage entered her life, she shares, “I didn’t want to marry at all. It felt like domestication. There were lonely moments. I’d lived with my parents for 33 years. They knew every part of me. I remember my dad joking about asking Karan Johar, whose office was across from our house in Khar, if he knew any eligible men. Funnily enough, it was Karan who ended up playing cupid.”
Speaking about her evolving relationship with her body, she says, “I’m deeply grateful to my body for keeping me alive for 46 years. Despite the criticism, it’s been kind. Today, I love it unconditionally. People say, ‘You’ve lost so much weight,’ but that happened after I started loving my body. Earlier, I’d punish it — harsh diets, over-exercising, no sleep, constant negativity. Things got worse before they got better.”
