Vidya Balan: I Love Being A Badass

Vidya Balan believes in celebrating herself – her mind, body and spirit. Raghuvendra Singh chats with the truly liberated actor.

- Raghuvendra Singh

The most beautiful thing a woman can ever wear is confidence.

No one wears it with more aplomb than Vidya Balan. She’s seen the peaks and the valleys and she’s discovered a Zen-like balance between the good and the bad of the glamour world. Her latest outing as Begum Jaan in director Sirjit Mukherji’s eponymous movie may not have earned booty at the box-office. But it has won her appreciation galore. Even the tough to please critics conceded once again that Vidya Balan was the best thing about the film. Her abandonment and her faultless portrayal comes from self belief. Vidya has always been confident of who she is, who she wants to be. She’s an actress, a star, but most importantly she’s a woman who inspires every woman to love herself. Taking risks, dealing with both failure and success with grace, Vidya Balan talks movies and more... 

Begum Jaan has won you the title of a ‘badass’. Do you view it as a compliment?

I love and enjoy being called badass. I’ve explored another side of myself. People are sending me messages saying, ‘Oh my God, you’re so badass!’ I love the sound of it.

You’ve said that Begum Jaan gave you an opportunity to spew anger. Was it a catharsis of sorts?

There are a lot of things that upset me as a woman. (Laughs) So I keep spewing. I keep venting about things I read in the papers, things I hear from women I come across...

Yes, playing Begum Jaan was a catharsis of sorts or perhaps just a ‘vent out’. Because the lines are so beautiful. A lot of women will find resonance in them. In fact, even men would. Kausar Munir has just done an unbelievable job with the writing.

How difficult was it for a soft-spoken person like you to abuse in the film?