‘You never know what works in Bollywood’

Vidya Balan talks to V. Ananth about her latest film Halla Bol

Though it is a hero-oriented film, Rajkumar Santoshi’s Halla Bol is about the journey of an actor from being a reel life hero to real life hero, Vidya Balan says that she chose the role because the film talks about a serious issue. The film stars Ajay Devgan and Vidya in the main lead with powerful back up performances from actors like Pankaj Kapoor and Darshan Jariwala.

About her role in Halla Bol, Vidya says, "I play Ajay’s love interest in the film. I play a small town girl who has her own set of beliefs. I support Ajay’s dream of becoming an actor. She does not let the trapping of Ajay’s stardom affect her."

According to Vidya, "Halla Bol means a call to war. The film is like a street theatre which sets out to talk about various issues, without in any way making an attempt to preach. To promote the film, I have told Rajji that I would not mind being a part of the street plays which he was planning to have with veteran theatre person Om Katare as the director all over the country."

Vidya is happy that she has had three hits this year. "`C4fter Guru in which I had a small role, I was blessed with two more big hits in Sajid Khan’s Heyy Babyy and Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhulaiya" says the actress and adds, "I did not even think that both Heyy Babyy as well as Bhool Bhulaiya would do so well at the box office. It feels great and hopefully I think I will be able to increase my price for the films, which I will be doing in future."

"You never know what works in Bollywood. I thought Nikhil Advani’s Salaam E Ishq would turn out to be a big blockbuster at the box office but it turned out to be a dud. I have learnt to do my best and leave the rest to God. Though I am not a yogi who can disconnect completely from the world, I do not think of the results nowadays. So far, I had relied only on my instinct. If my guts said go ahead, I used to do a film. But now I am slowly and steadily learning how to become responsible towards whatever I do." — MF

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