Vidya Balan: Now, women’s roles not written in context of men

Vidya Balan. Pic/Shadab Khan

There's joy in finding a director who nudges you out of your comfort zone, pushes you to find the gumption in you. For Vidya Balan, Suresh Triveni could well be that director. After bringing the charming Tumhari Sulu (2017), the two have switched gears to tell a hard-hitting story in Jalsa. "Suresh has pushed me out of my comfort zone with this film," smiles Balan. The actor is one of the fierce voices in Bollywood who doesn't shy away from a brave story, but she admits that she was taken aback by her character in Jalsa. "Here, I delved into the grey zone the way I have never done before. When Suresh narrated the story, I wasn't sure I wanted to do the film because it required me to embrace the grey shades. Like Maya Menon [her character], I want to be seen in a certain way. There has been an inner goodness to the roles I have done so far. Even Maya Menon is a good person, but you don't know how you'll react to a certain situation until you are confronted with it."

A still from Jalsa

The Amazon Prime Video offering revolves around a news channel investigating the hit-and-run case of a young girl. While Shefali Shah plays the victim's mother, refusing to give up until justice is delivered, Balan plays a noted television journalist keenly following the case. The actor had initially turned down the role, but the pandemic made her do a rethink. "The pandemic changed the way we look at ourselves and life. I felt ready to do Jalsa then."

A Balan film assures you of certain things - a powerful story, honest performances and strong women at its core. The actor, over the past 16 years, has played a key role in propagating women-led films. She is happy to see the shift in terms of the roles written today. "When I did Ishqiya [2008], there were many so-called female hero films. It has been changing slowly. Now, the roles written for women treat women as people, and not in the context of or in relation to the men in the story. They are getting more nuanced."