Wanted to live different people's lives: Vidya

When she first came to Ahmedabad in 2005, Vidya Balan was a debutante promoting her film 'Parineeta'. And since then Vidya hasn't given Ahmedabad a miss when it comes to promotional tours. With every movie she's redefined what being an actress in Bollywood, but her affection for the city is unchanged and is evident in her voice when she says, Ahmedabad has treated her "exactly the same way" right from her first film.

She says, "I have come here so many times. The roads, the buildings and the places we visit have begun to look familiar now. I have developed a certain bond with the city and it feels great to come back here." TOI caught up with the actress who was at her candid best, during her recent visit to promote her film Ghanchakkar.

It's a beautiful evening in Ahmedabad and you seem happy to be here!
Of course! I am excited to be here. It's such a welcome change from the Mumbai rains. We have been out there promoting the film in heavy rains and trust me it can get so difficult doing that! Besides, when it's raining so hard, all you feel like doing is to get inside a quilt and sleep. I feel very lazy during the monsoon and all the work before the film's release has already made me tired. It's great to be here because it's not raining much, but the weather's awesome.

This is the first time you are attempting comedy. What made you take up this genre?
The script. I have always had mixed feelings about doing a comedy. On one hand, I felt unsure of doing a comedy after doing such hard hitting, bold and realistic films. On the other hand, the actor in me kept telling me that this will be a superb opportunity to explore myself. I think the actor in me finally won the battle.

You get into the skin of a character while doing a film. Does it become difficult to get out of it when the film is over?
It used to be very difficult for me during the initial stages of my career. I would take my character home and would also keep thinking a lot about it. But now it has become easier. Perceptions change with experience.

You keep reinventing yourself as an actress in every film.
I am simply blessed. It was a dream to become an actor, and now I'm living that dream. I became an actor so that I can live different people's lives, have different experiences and cherish them. So I try to do as many different roles I can. I have been gifted with a very strong gut feeling and I think of it as a helping hand from 'that someone up there' who has made me choose all the right scripts. If I don't get that instinct to do a film then I just don't think about it any further. No other external factors can make me do it.

You did Hum Paanch on television some years back. Considering many Bollywood actors are doing television these days, do you have plans to return to TV?
I can't do television right now. It is too taxing! They shoot for 16 hours and more in a day and I am not cut out for that. Doing films is much easier than doing television. May be some day, if I am feeling very lazy or extremely bored, then I might think about doing TV.

Your film Shaadi Ke Side Effects is a sequel to Pyaar Ke Side Effects. Do you think sequels should retain their original cast?
A lot of time has passed between the first and the sequel, and so a lot must have changed. It's okay to have a different star cast in sequels. A lot of recent films have had different actors in sequels.

And did you also connect well with the film (Shaadi Ke Side Effects) since you recently got married?
I give him (Siddharth Roy Kapoor) a lot of gyaan (laughs). But he knows it's all coming from the film and not me. But yes, I have learnt a lot from the film. It has been an enriching experience.