OPEN LETTER TO VIDYA BALAN

« Sunday 100: Remorse | Home | Amitabh and Waheeda Rehman »

iView Author:
Abhinav Katoch
(New Delhi, India)

Email:
Witheld

OPEN LETTER TO VIDYA BALAN

I do not know really whether I am pushing it too far here or not but ,even though I think the potential as an actress you showed in Parineeta and a few ads prior to that is unmistakable,I’ve had mixed feelings about the way your career is shaping up.

What this makes me think,and I might be wrong,is that perhaps it was your natural coyness and hesitant self conscious manner that allowed you to fit into something like Parineeta with ease,as that fluttery self-conscious approach was perfectly reminiscent of the era,the film was set in.In Lage Raho Munnabhai it was the same breezy,easygoing grace that worked in perfectly in conjunction with the film,even though it did not make for particularly good chemistry with Sanjay Dutt.But,everything you’ve done since has been perfectly bland.(I might add that I do not really know how to judge your Bhool Bhulaiyaa act because the only emotion I felt for you was sympathy in the climax dance,which was badly done to be honest.But if the intention was to scare then you were far from successful in doing that)

I beleive,and again I might be wrong,the kind of natural expressivity and compelling presence that we first saw in Parineeta is something no one in Bollywood can match.But maybe just maybe, the hangover of Pradeep Sarkars briefing is so compelling that you have not been able to emerge out of the mould. While the coyness, and hesitant manner, conventional to the core worked for that character it became repetitive in all the others so far.. Surprising really..And amazingly this sort of narcissism acts as a major barrier preventing you to be able to act as a proper foil for different actors–case in point Shiney Ahuja and Sanjay Dutt.

I dont want to sound a gloryhunter but as a true fan of yours I’d say you need to look no further than Konkona Sen and Ayesha Takia for inspiration.Not only is the former an excellent actress with a heady mix of nuanced exuberance and winning demeanour, she is far from– very far from– being a narcissistic performer, making her an excellent foil, for actors as diverse as Ranvir Shorey (Mixed Doubles), Saif Ali Khan (Omkara), and Rahul Bose (Mr. & Mrs. Iyer),Irrfan Khan(Life in a Metro) and Kunal Kapoor(Laaga Chunari Mein Daag).Ayesha– just like you will never be a glamour queen,but her effervescence is seemingly irrepressible,which allows her to play the urbane-girl next door with perfect ease and better than just about anyone in the industry.

I know versatility is a self-concocted myth,but its also a know fact that an observant eye(and not just an empathetic person) is THE most important tool for an actor.The repitive nature of your performances makes me feel that you do not observe.Have you ever noticed how actors like Boman Irani and Vinay Pathak introduce the smallest of nuances in order to give the character they play the appropriate feel?Why is it that a face across which seemingly can suggest myriad emotional undercurrents is now recycling the same expressions film after film?Why is that you on screen always seem so curiously passive and starch stiff half the time?Why is it that you are now seemingly content to settle for Box Office Smashes at the cost of role and artistic satisfaction?

I might be reading too much into this but am I wrong in beleiving that you have somehow been dumb enough to believe your own hype?The grand claims of being the ‘Next Big Thing’?Why is it that I despite loving you so much get mixed feelings about you?Am I wrong in beleiving Vidya that your Friday is Over?Were you all hype?Just hype?

I certainly hope and pray,that the answer is not in the affirmative.

8 Responses to “OPEN LETTER TO VIDYA BALAN”

Anindya on March 2nd, 2008 7:28 am

Even I am a big fan of Vidya Balan and like you am also worried about her choice of films.(Why did she need to do Halla Bol?).But a sad part of the story is that after giving 4 superhits(Parineeta,Lage Raho Munnabhai,Hey Baby and Bhool Bhulaiya) any “other” actress would have been termed as No.1 but not her.Lots of reasons for that.First she is not related to anyone in the industry.Second,media always ignores her.
ML on March 2nd, 2008 8:02 am

This article is bang on to me. Vidya hasn’t really registered a presence in her films since Parineeta.
vishrant on March 2nd, 2008 9:33 am

just finished

‘il mare’

i was blown over by ‘the lake house’. ‘il mare’ is the original.

:*
vishrant on March 2nd, 2008 9:41 am

this letter is from ‘dil se’ and accurate.

abhinav. concentrate more on craft than craft man. other wise you will end up building a temple of vidya balan.

@};-
Kartick S on March 2nd, 2008 11:27 pm

This open letter reminds me of an episode from the Star Bestseller series called Ganesh aur Govind, starring Vrajesh Hirjee and Irrrfannnn (big fann of IRRRFANNN). Vrajesh plays a fan so LOST in the world that his God-like Irfan creates in his films that he cannot see the truth of reality anymore.

Let’s get real, the biggest of names have been tempted and sometimes necessarily have had to do ‘commercial’ cinema for good reasons. Scorsese wouldn’t have made ‘After hours’ or ‘The Colour of Money’ if he didn’t have a ‘Last Temptation of Christ’ in mind.

John Abraham who has found huge support on this platform did a No Smoking and in fact, NS was sold (and maybe even MADE) ONLY BECAUSE a STAR agreed to do it. Without that STAR, we would have probably not had a NS.

So let Vidya have her time under the sun, maybe she has noble intentions lined up for later. Sabka haq banta hai na yaar?

If in the times to come she chooses to stay there and not go back to your expectations, then that’s her call. SRK ne bhi toh ek time pe Maya Memsaab, O Darling yeh hai India, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, etc kiya tha? Only after DTPH did he decide ki main star hi theek hoon, actor gaya tel lene…

In 4 words, To each his own!

But having said all that, I must agree with you on one thing, I wish some people didn’t take the choices they did, but then again, it’s THEIR life and hence their decisions to make. One can’t live by others’ (audience’s) expectations.
Honhaar Goonda on March 3rd, 2008 12:39 pm

I don’t think Vidyan Balan should look up to either Konkon or Ayeshia Takia cos they all are in the same boat, as far as I am concerned.

Ayeshia Takia, I ~~love~~ like her, but she is also losing the plot. She is selecting films on the basis that the director is her friend or lives in her building. She has to smarten up. Where is that innocent/bubbly woman I saw in Socha Na Tha and Home Delivery!

She has got some interesting films - ‘De Taali’/'Eight By ten’ lined up, though.
bijoy on March 11th, 2008 9:18 am

Vidya Balan
roshan on March 19th, 2008 11:06 pm

I want the address of vidya balan can any body help me out !

Our Comments Policy : The following kinds of comments are troll capped, blocked and/or commenter's identity reported publicly: Verbal abuse, personal attacks, hate statements, spam, trolls, advertising. Please assist us in keeping the comments clean. Use the contact form to let us know if you find unwarranted comments on PFC. Thank you.

logo

PROJEKT iVIEW