FOR 6 MONTHS I WAS ONLY GIVING SCREEN TESTS: VIDYA BALAN

The iconic red bindi, the loosely tied hair, and a shy, beautiful smile, right from her very first shot of the 2005-starrer Parineeta to her latest hit, Tumhari Sullu, Vidya Balan has grown on the audience like never imagined. Having portrayed the role of an RJ in movies, the actress sure is blooming in her new avatar in real life on 92.7 BIG FM’s Muthoot Blue ‘Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho with Vidya Balan’. Using the platform to its optimum level, she speaks about issues that largely affect society. On a Friday special episode Mumbai Ka Sabse Bada Struggler, RJ Abhilash speaks to Vidya about her Bollywood debut Parineeta and the highs and lows she has faced in her career so far.

Speaking about her struggle before she landed her Bollywood debut Vidya Balan said, “The director, Pradeep Sarkar went to Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the producer of the film, saying that he wants to make this film. Vinod Chopra asked him who he will cast in Parineeta. Dada recommended my name. Vinod Chopra said I’m not bidding 10 Crores on this girl. And that’s not all, a very well established actress was interested in this movie. Pradeep Sarkar asked Vinod Chopra for me to give a screen test and give me a chance. For 6 months, I was only giving screen tests. By the end of it I was tired and almost done and Vinod Pradhan, who was supposed to be the cinematographer of this film, saw that I was almost giving up. He was the one who encouraged me to be my happy self and give a shot. And the shot that I gave that day turned out to be the shot that was going to be used in the opening credits.”

Reminiscing about the amazing music in the movie she said, “It’s timeless, it’s melodious; it’s something that makes your heart happy. Shantanu Moitra gets full marks. I think Dada and Shantanu worked beautifully with each other. And how could I not talk about Swanand Kirkire’s lyrics. Every frame of the movie was like a painting. Dada sketches himself; he does the storyboarding, himself. The way he has portrayed the movie, it’s as if the movie is imprinted in the audience’s minds. People still tell me that Parineeta is a movie that one can watch over and over again and full credit goes to Pradeep Sarkar.”