An Open Letter to Vidya Balan

An Open Letter to Vidya Balan

By Bollywood Hungama News Network, February 29, 2008 - 17:10 IST

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 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 believe, 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 Sarkar's 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 don't want to sound a glory hunter 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 onscreen demeanor, she is far from being a narcissistic performer. Making her an excellent foil, for actors as diverse as Ranvir Shorey (Mixed Doubles), Saif Ali Khan (Omkara), 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 repetitive 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, 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 believing that you have somehow been dumb enough to believe your own hype? The grand you so much get mixed feelings about you. Am I wrong in believing 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.

I found this at indiafm.But what is mentioned there i felt is absolutely right.What do u guys think?

Oh plzz no one needs to learn from Ayesha Takia atleast.....I mean I agree Konkona is good...I like koko😛.... but I dont agree to the Ayesha takia comment.......I dont think Ayesha has given any applause worthy performances so far.....which might make her someone to be look upto in terms of acting😕....!

And yeah im not a fan of Vidya Balan ,but i agree, she should stick to roles like Parineeta....."Hey baby" just wasnt her type.... I dont think she can really, be a glamour queen😆......but might work well in simple n coy roles😊...!

As for Ayesha Takia, I would suggest her to go n loose some weight first !

aww well i hv to agree tht vidya's best performance was till date was parineeta... eversince then, she hasn't been able to deliver THAT standard performance yet...

but i dunno if the writer is being a lil too harsh here but I liked vidya in parineeta n bhool bhulaiya (contrary to wat was said, i thought she was really gd in BB)

.. and well, movies like heyy babyy types.. are sort of a necessity for many of the actors here in order to maintain a balance wid their box office success ( by doing the commercial type movies) and at the same time do the films which gv them artistic satisfaction...

I guess you haven't seen Dor. Ayesha Takia was very good in an offbeat role. Most people recognize her for her main stream roles. But she has got the talent.

Originally posted by: togepe30

Oh plzz no one needs to learn from Ayesha Takia atleast.....I mean I agree Konkona is good...I like koko😛.... but I dont agree to the Ayesha takia comment.......I dont think Ayesha has given any applause worthy performances so far.....which might make her someone to be look upto in terms of acting😕....!

And yeah im not a fan of Vidya Balan ,but i agree, she should stick to roles like Parineeta....."Hey baby" just wasnt her type.... I dont think she can really, be a glamour queen😆......but might work well in simple n coy roles😊...!

As for Ayesha Takia, I would suggest her to go n loose some weight first !

Originally posted by: togepe30

Oh plzz no one needs to learn from Ayesha Takia atleast.....I mean I agree Konkona is good...I like koko😛.... but I dont agree to the Ayesha takia comment.......I dont think Ayesha has given any applause worthy performances so far.....which might make her someone to be look upto in terms of acting😕....!

And yeah im not a fan of Vidya Balan ,but i agree, she should stick to roles like Parineeta....."Hey baby" just wasnt her type.... I dont think she can really, be a glamour queen😆......but might work well in simple n coy roles😊...!

As for Ayesha Takia, I would suggest her to go n loose some weight first !

agree withcha

Ayesha Takia was absolutely brilliant in Dor. The movie is a remake of a Malayalam movie called 'Perumazhakaalam' , and I have to tell you, I liked Dor much better, purely because of Ayesha's performance. Her transformation from a bubble gum pop princess from 'Taarzan the Wonder Car' was remarkable. I really think she is one actress who is desperately overlooked by Bollywood.

And really, I don't think Ayesha needs to lose any weight! Come on, not every woman in the world has a 36-24-36 figure. If she's happy with how she looks, that's all that matters. I think she's beautiful as she is.

I completely agree with this letter. I kinda despise Vidya Balan. While I think she is quite the old world, classic Indian beauty, her acting leaves much to be desired. Parineeta was good, but everything went downhill from there. Maybe she is good only at roles like Lolita. At present, she doesn't quite have it to play glamourous roles/even roles like the one in Bhool Bhulaiyya. Watch the original actress play the role, and see Vidya's rendition. Laughable, really. 😳

I loved vidya's performance in bhool bhulaiyaa 😃

Originally posted by: darkness_123

And really, I don't think Ayesha needs to lose any weight! Come on, not every woman in the world has a 36-24-36 figure. If she's happy with how she looks, that's all that matters. I think she's beautiful as she is.

Totally AGREE!..Weight has nothing to do with it.Acting is what matters and she is exceptionall!

Hmmm.I do agree with some points of the Letter. I think do feel Vidya should stop rebelling and focus on her strong points in terms of genre of acting. But i disagree on the point made about BB. I think Vidya has SUPERB, no one could have perfromed the way she did it. Deserves a full round of a applause! 😃

Barring Kareena Kapoor, no other Indian actress has done any groundbreaking work in the recent past. She is the perfect blend of glamour and talent.But as much as I liked her in Refugee, Chameli, Dev, Yuva, Omkara, Jab We Met etc, she has been embarrassingly hammy in loads of films. Aishwarya too is somewhat on the lines of Kareena. Whilst Ash was spectacularly in her element in films like HDDCS, Devdas, Taal, Guru, Jodhaa Akbar, Provoked, Chokker Bali and Shabd, she has been downright BAD in numerous films(Kuyn, Ho Gaya Na, anyone?)

Ayesha Takia gave a sincere performance in Dor, but that was about it. I haven't seen her perform in any other film. Fool and Final, Sunday et al were duds. Besides, I don't think Ayesha is quite the effervescent, bubbly girl next door. Dor was just a flash in the pan performance.

I don't think Konkona was great in Aaja Nachle or Lagaa Chunari Mein Daag.Both were films that were mediocre at best, and Koko certainly did not display any mindblowing histrionics. She was decidedly good in films like Mr & Mrs Iyer,Page 3 and Omkara etcetera, but not in the Yashraj films she did where she was dance swathed in chiffon sarees 🤢 .

Priyanka Chopra was good in Aitraaz, but haven't seen her flaunt her acting chops in any other film.

A film like Parineeta where the actor gets a platform to showcase their talent is not made every now and again, and understandably so. Good films very rarely work, and those precious few well made films which rake in the moolah star established stars like SRK, Aamir etc. So isn't it but obvious that an actor(or actress) would want to consolidate their star status before sojourning to quench their creative yearning. I don't think Vidya is in the rat-race for the # 1 spot. Age isn't on her side either, she would make a cracking pair with older actors like SRK or Aamir but these older uncles choose to pair opposite young 22 year starlets like Deepika and Asin, so there.

She's an awesome actress...She rovd that with Bhool Bhulaiyaa and Parineeta!