Outlook Business | WoW 2017 - Vidya Balan on her Bollywood journey
Outlook Business editor N Mahalakshmi in a candid conversation with National Film awardee Vidya Balan on being a female actor in Bollywood
Read the stories of all the 17 women achievers profiled this year https://www.outlookbusiness.com/speci...
You can also find the edition on the Outlook Group app or buy a digital copy from Magzter
Download Outlook Group: http://app.outlookindia.com/
Digital copy: http://subscription.outlookindia.com/...
Music: Vodovoz Music Productions
#VidyaBalan #WOW2017 #Bollywood #Business #OutlookBusiness #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
Read the stories of all the 17 women achievers profiled this year https://www.outlookbusiness.com/speci...
You can also find the edition on the Outlook Group app or buy a digital copy from Magzter
Download Outlook Group: http://app.outlookindia.com/
Digital copy: http://subscription.outlookindia.com/...
Music: Vodovoz Music Productions
#VidyaBalan #WOW2017 #Bollywood #Business #OutlookBusiness #OutlookMagazine #OutlookGroup
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NewsTranscript
00:00 [MUSIC PLAYING]
00:03 Vidya, thank you for taking out time at a very, very busy time.
00:08 We know that your schedule is really crazy around this time.
00:12 No, it's my pleasure entirely.
00:14 Instead, thank you, Mahalakshmi, Indranil, and Outlook Business
00:19 for featuring me on your cover.
00:21 It's not every day that I get featured on a business magazine
00:25 cover, so it is very special.
00:27 And good evening, all of you.
00:28 It's wonderful to be here.
00:31 Thank you.
00:32 So my first question to you really
00:34 is, you come from a conservative, middle class,
00:40 Tamil Brahmin family.
00:42 And so do I.
00:43 Right.
00:44 How is it that you made it and I didn't?
00:47 You have.
00:47 Look at you.
00:50 Are you fishing, Mahalakshmi?
00:53 Of course you have.
00:54 I've just made it to the big screen.
00:58 You still pull the strings.
01:01 And I think-- correct me if I'm wrong when
01:05 I say that I do come from a, like you said,
01:08 Tam Bram family, a traditional Tam Bram family,
01:12 but not necessarily conservative.
01:15 Would you agree?
01:15 I don't think-- Tam Brams are conservative.
01:19 I agree.
01:20 Yeah.
01:21 The proof of that is right in front of us.
01:25 So I think I was given every freedom as a child.
01:28 We're two sisters.
01:29 My sister is four years older than me.
01:31 And she and I have led our lives exactly the way we wanted to.
01:35 The only thing we were ever told is that whatever you do,
01:40 enjoy it.
01:41 Do it to the best of your abilities.
01:43 And go conquer the world.
01:44 So that's what I think.
01:47 That's the only thing we were ever told.
01:50 Sure.
01:51 So I just want to take you back to 2000.
01:55 And the initial phase of your--
01:57 [LAUGHTER]
02:00 The initial phase of your career when you were really
02:04 facing rejections.
02:05 It was a very, very tough period.
02:09 How do you cope with it?
02:10 What were you telling yourself, especially the time
02:13 when you had 11 rejections after signing contracts?
02:18 Well, you know, we didn't--
02:19 hi.
02:20 We didn't really-- hi, auntie.
02:22 Sorry.
02:23 We didn't really sign contracts.
02:25 I don't know if they do down south even today.
02:27 But at least in 2000, they didn't.
02:31 So it was--
02:32 More verbal.
02:33 Yeah, verbal commitments.
02:35 And slowly but surely, for those who don't know, just a brief,
02:39 I was doing a Malayalam film with D Mohanlal.
02:44 And midway through the film, Mohanlal and the director
02:47 had a problem.
02:48 And therefore, the film got shelved.
02:50 And they had both done about eight superhit films together.
02:54 So they said, what was new in this equation?
02:56 What was it different this time?
02:58 So they said, oh, this is a girl.
02:59 So she's jinxed.
03:00 So I got replaced in 11 of the films I was to do after.
03:07 And I think there were days when I wouldn't
03:12 want to get out of bed.
03:13 I would be really cranky.
03:16 I would be fighting with my mother a lot.
03:19 I think my mother really bore the brunt of--
03:22 because I think she was wanting to protect me.
03:23 And she would tell me, are you sure you want to try this?
03:26 And every time she told me, are you sure you want to try this,
03:30 what I heard was, you're not good enough for this.
03:33 So because that was my--
03:35 And you wanted to do it even more.
03:37 Yeah.
03:37 And that was my fear deep down that maybe I'm
03:39 not cut out for this.
03:41 So I think we used to have a lot of clashes.
03:43 My father was always playing referee.
03:45 But each one of them would come up with inspirational stories,
03:50 saying, do you know--
03:52 my sister was in Bangalore at that time.
03:53 She'd just gotten married.
03:54 And she would call me and say, do you
03:56 know Hamita Bachchan had 11 flops before Zanjeer happened?
04:01 Do you know Tabu waited six years for her first film?
04:03 And all sorts of stories.
04:06 And after a while, I started to say,
04:11 I don't want to hear any of this.
04:13 But I think that hunger in me as an actor did not leave me.
04:21 So there was a Sai Baba Mandir close to my house in Chembur
04:24 where I would go and sit and cry bucket loads.
04:29 I would fight with Sai Baba like he was not just the idol,
04:34 but a real person.
04:36 And I would say, why did you dangle the carrot in front of me
04:38 if you were not to give it to me?
04:40 How unfair is that?
04:42 Something would happen.
04:43 I would wake up the next morning and feel like I
04:45 could go on all over again.
04:47 And that's how I think it's faith, deep faith in myself
04:53 and the universe, probably.
04:56 And really, that comes from the family.
04:59 That helped me just keep going relentlessly.
05:03 Sure.
05:04 Going by the characters that you have done, especially lately,
05:09 I'm going to ask you-- and also in the context of what
05:11 is happening today around the world--
05:15 are you a feminist?
05:17 And what are your thoughts on the Indian film
05:22 industry in that context?
05:25 I think I am a feminist.
05:27 I'm not anti-men, because a lot of people
05:29 don't know the difference between the two.
05:31 I'm sure everyone in this room does.
05:32 But I'm someone who believes that I
05:38 have the equal right to breathe, live, lead my life
05:45 the way a man does.
05:47 So I guess that's what qualifies for a feminist.
05:50 How is the film industry?
05:53 You know, I think it's been wonderful to me.
05:57 I have dictated how people will treat me.
06:00 Or I have really, without being rebellious, just--
06:08 I think maybe I'm just too headstrong, strong-willed,
06:13 whatever those words are.
06:17 But I think it can be extremely sexist,
06:21 if that's what you're hinting at, I'm sure.
06:24 Right.
06:25 Yeah, it can be.
06:26 And I think in the initial phase,
06:27 I did experience some amount of sexism.
06:30 But--
06:32 And how did you react to it?
06:33 I used to be extremely angry when I'd be told that, you
06:37 know, but he's given dates.
06:39 So you'll have to work your dates around that, never mind
06:42 if I had three other films going on at the same time.
06:46 He would always get a bigger van, you know,
06:51 always a better hotel, all sorts of--
06:55 and people would almost sound like, [HINDI]
07:03 And I'd be like, what the hell, you know?
07:06 Of course, stories.
07:07 [HINDI]
07:11 Thankfully for me, though, I entered
07:13 with a film like Parinita.
07:14 So I think I didn't experience, as an actor, I think--
07:20 and no one questioned the rules I had set for myself.
07:27 This was sexism and other areas that I encountered sometimes.
07:31 And I remember people telling me,
07:32 [HINDI] life of a female actor is really, really short.
07:37 So you have to look younger.
07:43 So you have to--
07:44 you can't be wearing saris.
07:45 You can't be-- you have to be glamorous.
07:47 And you have to be this, that, and the other.
07:50 And I tried.
07:51 I tried my hand at it.
07:52 And I got slapped around very badly.
07:55 But I just then realized that, you know,
08:00 I don't think the shelf life of an actor is short.
08:05 Not if we believe--
08:07 not if we female actors believe that it's not.
08:09 It's really up to you.
08:11 Only a straitjacketed role is short.
08:13 Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
08:15 And that's when I think a sort of reinvention
08:18 happened in my career.
08:20 Not that I was even aware of it.
08:22 But thankfully, when I started to say, you know,
08:25 I can't do this.
08:26 I can't fit into a certain mold.
08:28 It's not me.
08:29 I'm not enjoying what I'm doing.
08:31 And I'm here to be an actor.
08:32 So let me just do roles that give me the opportunity
08:35 to really challenge the actor in me.
08:38 I think I began to be a happier person.
08:41 And when did you--
08:42 what was that inflection point when you really
08:43 decided for yourself that you want to conduct yourself
08:48 or take on roles that you really wanted to do,
08:51 and not anything that came your way because you just
08:53 wanted to be an actor?
08:54 I think I did a couple of films where, you know,
08:56 when I watched myself, I said, oh my god,
08:58 sleepwalk through them.
09:00 And typically, commercial films are not easy to do either.
09:04 Hats off to those who do them well.
09:06 But I thought, you know, I obviously
09:08 had a chip on my shoulder.
09:09 I'd been appreciated as an actor already in Parinita.
09:12 And I thought, oh, this is by heart [INAUDIBLE]
09:14 I can just do this.
09:16 And I don't need to really apply myself.
09:18 But I was wrong.
09:20 But that kind of work was not for me.
09:22 I needed substance.
09:23 I need meat to chew into even though I'm vegetarian.
09:28 So I think that's when I realized that, you know,
09:34 I'm OK.
09:35 Because also, glamour is associated with youth,
09:40 is associated-- it's very--
09:42 it's limiting in a sense, is associated with fluff.
09:47 Whereas when I said yes to Ishqiya, which was really
09:51 a turning point for me, I remember people telling me,
09:53 you know, why are you doing Ishqiya?
09:55 Of course, Nasiruddin Shah is one of the greatest actors
09:57 I ever was.
09:58 But he's so much--
09:59 typically, commercial film.
10:00 And I said, the actor in me was just calling out to me,
10:04 you know, and saying, you have to jump at this.
10:06 I said, that's what I'm going to respond to.
10:09 Thankfully, I paid heed to my gut, my instinct.
10:15 And I've done fairly well.
10:19 Yeah, yeah, thank you.
10:21 Have you ever thought of scripting, producing,
10:24 directing?
10:25 No.
10:25 Did any of that ever come--
10:27 to just bring your own ideas to life in your own way?
10:30 No, I don't think I'm very imaginative, to be honest.
10:34 I can probably execute ideas better than have my own.
10:43 And also, I don't have the discipline
10:46 that's required to write.
10:47 It's a very lonely process.
10:48 I'm someone who needs to constantly say, listen,
10:52 listen, listen.
10:52 Can you hear me?
10:54 And as far as direction and production is concerned,
10:57 no way--
10:59 they have to handle a whole lot of people and their egos.
11:01 And I want to be handled.
11:03 I'm not going to handle anyone.
11:04 [LAUGHTER]
11:06 So-- and there's a producer at home.
11:10 So I think we'd be tearing apart our hair, you know,
11:17 if both of us were producers.
11:19 I enjoy being an actor.
11:21 This is what I've always wanted to do.
11:23 And I'm living my dream.
11:24 So I feel no need to really venture into anything else.
11:27 Absolutely.
11:28 You have endured a lot of ups and downs.
11:31 Right.
11:31 And finally made your dream come true.
11:33 Let me ask you, what is your dream now?
11:35 If you look at the next 15, 20 years, you still--
11:38 I think let's talk about the next 40 years.
11:41 [LAUGHTER]
11:41 Wow.
11:42 I like--
11:43 I just want to keep acting for the next 40 years.
11:46 And I hope the universe is listening
11:47 and is going to respond appropriately.
11:49 But this is what I enjoy doing.
11:52 Nothing's changed since I first decided,
11:55 I think, at the age of eight that I wanted to be an actor.
11:58 And therefore, I think it's not going to change.
12:02 You know, that's all really.
12:04 Those are my plans.
12:05 It's not-- I don't have specific goals.
12:08 I just want to keep--
12:09 I hope I enjoy everything that I do.
12:11 Because success and failure is really not in my control.
12:15 You know, they are like the seasons.
12:19 Change is constant, and you can't fight that.
12:22 But I hope I keep enjoying what I do.
12:27 You are-- you're not the stereotypical Bollywood
12:32 actress.
12:34 For someone who is introspective and intelligent as you are,
12:40 what is the value that you bring to an industry where looks
12:44 garner the most attention?
12:47 Oh my god.
12:47 I don't know in terms of what value
12:52 I bring to the industry, really.
12:54 I don't know if I do.
12:55 But I know that I'm constantly working
12:59 at valuing myself more.
13:01 I think as a woman, I think that's the biggest challenge.
13:06 Whatever profession you're in, you know,
13:08 whatever age, whatever size, whatever,
13:11 it's a constant challenge to value yourself.
13:15 I think you have to constantly remind yourself,
13:18 because you're conditioned not to.
13:21 So I don't know about the industry, but--
13:24 Sure.
13:25 And what is-- based on your own life lesson,
13:28 what is the one advice that you want to give to all the women
13:31 out there?
13:34 Again, I'm not one to give advice at all.
13:36 I really-- but I think that's what
13:38 I've learned over the years.
13:39 You know, that the more I value myself, the happier I get.
13:48 And the happier I get, the happier around me,
13:51 my world around me is.
13:53 So I think it all comes back down
13:56 to valuing the woman you are.
14:00 And congratulations to all the award winners tonight.
14:05 Thank you.
14:05 Thank you so much, Vidya, for being with us today
14:08 and taking out time at a time that is really, really--
14:11 No, no, it's my absolute pleasure.
14:13 And since I'm here, I have to tell you all that.
14:16 You know, please watch "Tumhari Sulu" on the 17th of November.
14:21 I'm shameless around the release.
14:23 I don't mind calling out to people from my car
14:26 and saying, 17th November, "Tumhari Sulu."
14:29 But thank you very, very much.
14:30 Thank you.
14:31 [APPLAUSE]
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14:43 (upbeat music)
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