Vidya’s dirty dancing

Now we all know that Vidya Balan is infamous for her sense of styling but there is one more thing that she is certainly lacking.
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Vidya Balan to star opposite Abhishek Bachchan

The ad maverick Balki's first feature film Cheeni Kum made a dynamic dent in audience's minds. It also made him a lifelong Amitabh Bachchan fan. Having gotten masterly performances out of Tabu and the Big B in Cheeni Kum, you'd expect him to recreate the same magic in his next feature film.

But no. Balki is on to a different route for his second film. His next film entitled Pa which begins at the end of the year features real-life father-son Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan. And no Tabu! This, in spite of her brilliant performance. "But that's because Pa has no room for Tabu at all. This time the story is a father-son one. Amitabh has no love interest in the film. And sorry about that. Abhishek does have a girl though." And for the first time Junior is being paired with the petite and lately out-of-sight Vidya Balan.

Says Balki, "We've already approached Vidya and she's more-or-less agreed. I can see her as a pair with Abhishek, can't you?" Vidya comes into the picture through her sister Priya who works with Balki at Lintas. "In fact, it's Priya I know well. I got to know Vidya only when we started talking for Pa," says Balki.

After repeated pairing with Preity, Rani and Priyanka, Abhishek is on the look-out for fresh collaborative opportunities. Vidya Balan is someone the Bachchans have admired from the time the Big B saw her in Parineeta and then worked with her in Eklavya. The Big B had compared Vidya with his favourite actress Waheeda Rehman. Both father and son adore Waheedaji.

So is Balki looking at the prospect of directing a new pair? "I don't look at it that way. Vidya suits the role. I've known her from her ad days. Though we haven't done any ad together, she has done ads for my company Lintas."

One questions remains. Why don't encore- projects happen with Tabu even after powerhouse performances the first time? Madhur Bhandarkar's Chandni Bar and Balki's Cheeni Kum led to no second project. In fact the only directors whom Tabu has worked with more than once are Priyadarshan and Gulzar.

Courtesy:indiafm

Vidya: My man can be from any walk of life

With two hits - Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Heyy Babyy - in her kitty, Vidya Balan's career is going great guns and she believes the industry has started offering meaty roles to actresses.

"I'm lucky to be a part of the movie industry when leading ladies are no longer decorative. It's providential that I started with Parineeta."

So is she doing her Heyy Babyy director Sajid Khan's next film? "There's been no formal talk on this. Sajid hasn't offered me the role. I've been reading reports that I'm doing the film. Right now he's writing his next film." Vidya had five releases last year - Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Heyy Babyy, Eklavya: The Royal Guard, Salaam-E-Ishq and Guru. She also made a brief appearance in the title song of Om Shanti Om.

"I was very happy about all my five releases in 2007, though some of them didn't do well. From the very start when dada (Pradeep Sarkar) showed so much faith in me by giving me 'Parineeta', the industry has made substantial space for me.

"By the grace of god, there're lots of interesting roles happening. I'm in the process of signing some more. Since I came to cinema, my criteria for signing a role remain unchanged. I've never been in a hurry to get anywhere. Things are happening at a pace I'm enjoying. And I'm not insecure." The actress, who was seen in Rajkumar Santoshi's Halla Bol along with Ajay Devgan this year, has no regrets.

"I don't regret anything. I'm a hopeless optimist. I feel what I've to go through will happen regardless of how much I fight it."

The industry is looking at Akshay Kumar and Vidya as a hit pair after Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa.

"I'd love for us to be seen that way. Even Katrina Kaif-Akshay look great together. I'd love to work with Akshay again. Yes, we have offers together. He's a great co-star. The icing on the cake is our films together have worked."

In Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Vidya invested demoniacal energy.

"Yes, it was a frightening experience. My director Priyadarshan handled the last 20 minutes of the story when I get into a supernatural rage of dance very intelligently. I love Priyan. He's a man of few words. We even converse in Malayalam."

This year Vidya was supposed to do another film with Priyadarshan. "But there's a problem with the leading man. I'd love to work with Priyan again. I've been fortunate in the fact that directors have signed me more than once."

Any hopes for 2008?

"Add some spice to my own life and not wait for others to do it for me. I would like love to happen. But I'm not holding my breath for it. Yes, there're times when I get lonely. But most of the time I'm quite happy being with my family and myself."

Unlike Preity Zinta, Vidya has made no pledge to stay away from actors in her personal life.

"Some people are doctors, others are actors. My companion can be from any walk of life. If he's an actor we can both carry our own mirrors to the sets and be narcissistic individually. And we can have mirrors all over the house. Instead of looking into each other's eyes, we can look into the mirrors," Vidya joked.