FF Network
Sherni: “I Want To Work That’s An Extension Of My Beliefs”, Says Vidya Balan
Once again B-Town actress Vidya Balan has come out of the box by breaking the Bollywood stereotypes with her movie characters. She is back with her mind-blowing performance by living out of her character. Vidya Balan’s new film ‘Sherni’ is all set to release on Amazon Prime from 18th June. During a recent interview, she was talking about her experience while filming for ‘Sherni’. And, she said, “I Want to Work That’s an Extension of My Beliefs”. Furthermore, Vidya said, “Honestly, it’s not like every time I plan to do it. But every time I want to work on something that meant to me. A kind of work that excites and fulfills me. That’s why I went ahead and made my choices”.
Experience With Director Amit Masurkar:
During the interview, Vidya Balan mentioned that the director Amit Masurkar is somewhat unusual, the way he thinks. Also, he has a different perspective to see the world and peeps performances. However, satire is not much used in Hindi Cinema. This thing is itself a refreshing one. Therefore, working with Amit Masurkar felt like it is somewhat unusual from the habitual working system. Remembering her shoot time of ‘Sherni’, Vidya further mentioned that sometimes it was tough to meet the expectations of Amit. In the end, ‘Sherni’ was an experience that taught her a different way to approach things in life. And, Vidya could feel that she can do the work differently.
Vidya Vincent in ‘Sherni’:
Well, Vidya Vincent is Vidya’s name in the film ‘Sherni’. And, she has played the role of a forest officer. Overall, the story revolves around the man-animal conflict. This conflict is seen through the eyes of the forest officer Vidya Vincent. Generally, it is a male-dominated vocation. However, there are lots of female forest officers that work day-night in the jungle. While staying away from their families and loved ones, alone in the forest. Vidya Balan further said that this job is not easy for anybody. Because, there are no fixed working hours, yet a lot of responsibilities are kept on their shoulders. Forest officers are the person who acts as the bridge between the villagers, tribals, and the forest authorities. There is a possibility that officers might have to report to duty at the midnight.
Amongst all these challenges, Vidya Vincent is very timorous. She is a woman of few words and more action. Talking about her dedication towards her profession. She is very clear, vigorous, and capricious about it. The character Vidya Vincent wants to work for the right thing, in the right way, and any system. And, that’s where a person faces vexation. Because a lot of other people want to take the shortcut. The plot of the film is about a tiger and that fierce will be visible in Vidya’s character.
Being ‘Vidya Vincent’ Was Different from Other Characters:
Vidya Balan addresses the character of ‘Vidya Vincent’ as an odd one. However, Vidya has played characters of various strong and compassionate women. Still, Vidya Vincent was something different as she is a quiet hustler. And, she can do her job being unnoticed while cornered to do it alone. And, the behavior of being passive-aggressive was something that Vidya Balan explored about herself. She said that “I never thought I can play a character of a passive-aggressive person”. She was completely astonished after taping herself into that character. This phase reminded her about the time when she was being passive-aggressive. After that, she was comfortable with the character.
Planning to Shoot in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh:
Vidya Balan shares her preparation to shoot for ‘Sherni’. When she came to know that the shoot location is in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, she started watching documentaries on forests. At the location, she came to meet two forest officers and inspected the forest with them. The book “Hidden Life of Trees” by Peter Wohlleben helped her in attaining secrets about forests. Afterward, she started observing the trees and plants differently. For the first time, Vidya Balan stayed in a tent. This was also a new experience for her. She recalls her time in the forest. During summer the forest was more brown and less green. Several times she went on morning walks into the forest. And, Vidya cherished those times. While shooting, the production took help from experts who used to guide them on nature and the abode. This was a time when Vidya saw the wildlife differently. She acknowledged her family farm where she barely goes. Because she is scared of creatures. And, now she just takes a stick and walks around.
Connection with Other Films:
While talking about ‘Sherni’ Vidya mentioned her previous experience. Vidya says that each time she is in a movie, it is therapeutic for her. And, every time she explores a new side of her. Like ‘The Dirty Picture’ mitigated her to accept the body she has. ‘Shakuntala Devi’ taught her to be unapologetic for being ambitious for her career.
