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Being Balan
It has been 20 years since Bhalo Theko the Bengali film which broke all the prejudice against Vidya Balan and finally kick started her career as a film actress.
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Movies of Vidya Balan / Image credi- IMDb
When was the last time you saw an actress who didn’t have blonde highlights in her hair, or someone who was not interested in showing off her beach body in a bikini? Moreover, she is an actress who is making movies which she shoulders right through to the 100Cr club all by herself?
That’s Vidya Balan for you, draped demurely but a riot all the same. This Tam-Brahm as the Tamil – Brahman’s are colloquially called, was never meant to make it so big in B-town but with her Padma Shri tucked beautifully amongst the folds of her 9 yards, no one can refute her contribution to the art of cinema.
We all know that it is rare for someone with no contacts in the industry to make a break-through here without having a godfather or sugar-daddy, yet we have Vidya Balan celebrating 21years of Bhalo Theko the Bengali film that finally made her an actress. Truly she didn’t stand a chance, with everyone writing her off before she even started.
Apparently, Bhalo Theko and Bengali cinema was no way in her radar. She had instead planned on starting off in a language she is familiar with Malayalam. She even bagged a role opposite superstar Mohanlal in Chakram. Unfortunately, the film shelved. The fate of that film, affected that of 12 other films the actress had signed. What seemed like a promising career suddenly doomed before it even started. She was labeled a bad-omen or an ill-fated actress almost overnight. How does a newcomer rise over such harshness?
She attributes this success to her family, they kept her sane and motivated even at the bleakest moments. According to the actress, for a very long time her mother was not happy about her choice of vocation. She was scared about how the industry will treat her daughter and ended up being her biggest nemesis during the growing up years.
At least, that’s how Vidya as a young girl would see it. She had assumed that her mother didn’t find her talented enough to encourage her. It was only later when she saw how fervently her mother used to pray for her success despite her apprehensions to the profession she understood her mother’s opposition and the two grew closer.
Today, the actress believes it was her mother’s prayers and sister and brother-in-law constant support that made her go on. Her father, till date saves all her interviews and gives her feedback on each of them. The love of this family and their togetherness was what it took to give us Vidya Balan the actress.
It has been 20 years since Bhalo Theko the Bengali film which broke all the prejudice against Vidya Balan and finally kick started her career as a film actress. Close to its heels came Parineeta the film that made her the Hindi film actress that she is celebrated as… everyone knows what followed with films like Guru, Bhul Bhulaiya, Ishqiya, The Dirty Picture and so on but what makes Vidya Balan so comfortable in her own skin with complete disregard towards being a conventional Hindi film heroine? What gives her the strength to be unapologetically herself?
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Image- IMDb / Bhul BhulaiyaIs it her failures in the beginning or a chip on her shoulder? Didn’t she ever feel awkward being a few kilos over the average weight of a Hindi film actress? The articulate actress worded her insecurities and journey beautifully in an interview saying, “I did lose confidence somewhere in between. Thankfully, I’ve always been appreciated for my work. So that was something to hold on to.
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Image- IMDb / Parineeti
But in terms of commercial success, because it was evading me at that point, I wondered what had changed. I wondered if it had anything to do with the size of my body? For someone who’s grown up with being called fat, everything in life boils down to the size of your body. I was also the biggest I’ve been at that point.”
“I definitely, was thinking that everything is only about the body. That’s when I began working with a healer, who I’ve been working with for a while now. And I confronted my worst fears. That helped me accept myself even more than before. I finally stopped judging myself at the cost of my body. If The Dirty Picture liberated me and made me comfortable about my body, this phase made me realise that it’s my body which is keeping me alive. If I’m going to hate it, then I might as well be dead. I think my body was reacting to the negative thoughts by spiraling intoa health issue.”
Her complete acceptance of self and even others makes her the most loved actress today. It is also the reason why Siddharth fell head over heels in love with her. Though marriage was not easy because Siddharth had been married twice before, for the conservative family Vidya comes from, it was one too many failed marriages to convince them to marry their beloved daughter to him.
It has been 11 years since their marriage and like any marriage in the public eye the two have had to cope with rumours and speculations galore. At one point the actress grudged that people look straight at her tummy before meeting her eyes discussing pregnancy and other personal aspects of their marriage, the two have overcome it all with utmost élan.
Hearing about how life and love has been for Vidya, we must say here is an actress who is the perfect blend of a homebird and a high-flying hawk, here today, there tomorrow but always a winner!
Currently, the actress is awaiting the release of her film Lovers, as are her fans who didn’t seem satiated with Neeyat that released last year. While there isn’t much clarity about the subject of the film one thing is certain, the actress will entertain, entertain, entertain us like she always does!
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