Vidya Balan interview: On ‘Neeyat’ and why Bollywood should use this period of flux to reinvent itself

Vidya Balan in ‘Neeyat’
| Photo Credit: balanvidya/Instagram

Vidya Balan’s Neeyat is her first theatrical release since Mission Mangal in 2019. A box-office queen in the prime of her career, her recent forays into the world of streaming have been successful as well, with the likes of Sherni and Jalsa garnering rave responses from critics and audiences alike.

“I missed the theatrical experience,” says the actor, firmly stating that Neeyat is apt for the big screen. In the Anu Menon directorial, she plays detective Mira Rao who investigates a murder tthat takes place at exiled billionaire Ashish Kapoor’s getaway.

Excerpts from an interview:

Indian cinema has had iconic detectives, like the street-smart Byomkesh Bakshi or the instinctive and calm-composed Sethurama Iyer (Mammootty from the ‘CBI’ series). How would you describe Mira Rao in ‘Neeyat’?

She is not your classic detective; that’s what endeared her to me. Generally, detectives have a particular style and individuality to them. Mira Rao is sharp but shy. She is also supremely geeky, and she enjoys decoding stuff, including human behaviour. She is constantly observing and absorbing, but you don’t realise that. It’s almost like a placid river under which there are lots of rumblings.

Is ‘Neeyat’ an Indianised version of ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’? The film’s trailer triggered such a comparison…

Not at all. I think it’s great that it’s compared to Knives Out just based on a trailer. But if you pick up any five films from the genre, they will all have certain similarities. There are tropes that a genre uses. For instance, I always ask myself why does every murder mystery happen in a secluded location, either in a palace or a castle? Knives Out came out recently, so people might think Neeyat is a nod to that film. I am confident that Anu Menon has written an original story, and yes, she has used popular tropes of the genre.

Box-office success is a confidence booster for any actor. Your last three films (‘Sherni’, ‘Shakuntala Devi’ and ‘Jalsa’) have all been direct-to-OTT releases. How do you measure the success of a film that comes out on streaming platforms?

I don’t quite understand how the number game works. On OTT, I am guessing the result depends on the measure of people who watch it as soon as it drops or by the number of responses you get. That said, on streaming, the messages come to you in the most staggered fashion, over a long time and sometimes unexpectedly, because you can watch it whenever you want.

Vidya Balan as detective Mira Rao in ‘Neeyat’
| Photo Credit:
Prime Video India/YouTube

Post-pandemic, it has been tough to understand the psyche of the theatre-going audience. Last year, ‘Gangubhai Kathiawadi’ was one of the rare blockbusters from the Hindi film industry. How do you think a female-led film emerged triumphant in a dull year for Bollywood?

I wouldn’t like to see Gangubhai Kathiawadi as just a female-led film that worked well at the box-office. Because it’s not like male-led films worked any better last year! Very few Hindi films succeeded theatrically in 2022. Gangubhai Kathiawadi is a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film; it has scale, and you’d love to watch it on the big screen. In his films, everything is larger-than-life and people like to go to such movies. At the same time, people are interested in a movie with a solid story. So, both the grandeur and the plot must appeal to the audience.

Films from the south have overshadowed Bollywood as far as visibility is concerned. They have scored over Hindi films in terms of content as well. What must Bollywood do to change the scenario?

The industry is going through a period of flux. It’s a tough time, yes, but not a bad thing entirely. This churn is important for us to reinvent ourselves; to reinvent the idiom of Hindi cinema. I am nobody to say what Bollywood should be doing next, but we must tell stories that we are passionate about. This period is very crucial for the industry, and I hope only good things will happen from now on.

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You worked a lot on your physicality in earlier films like ‘Kahaani’ or ‘Dirty Picture’. However, in recent times, you have been playing thinking characters that require you to internalise your performance. Is this a conscious step in your career?

Not really. The films I have done have always reflected my state of mind. I have been through different stages in my life. Of late, I have been thinking a lot and that’s why you see me doing films like Sherni and Jalsa. It’s not coincidental; I believe it’s just that I attract things from the energy I give out to the universe. Perhaps, ‘less is more’ is my current state of mind in life, and that’s why you see a measured Mira Rao in Neeyat.

You have a hilarious social media presence. When will we see you in a full-fledged comedy film?

I am hoping that someone writes a comedy script for me. I loved doing Ghanchakkar and Tumhari Sulu, where I got to do some comedy. I want to do an out-and-out comedy role, akin to the what the likes of Urvashi ma’am, Innocent sir, and Sreenivasan sir do in Malayalam cinema. I wish I could do a comedy role similar to Sridevi’s character in Mr India!

Neeyat will release in theatres on July 7