We Need To Redefine The Term ‘Heroine' And Not Let Her Be Just An Appendage Of The Hero.

Vidya Balan in conversation with Sumitha Chakraborty, talks about breaking streotype notions in the industry, how she oves being a heroine, films and more...

- Sumitha Chakraborty

She actually had no business being in the glitz ‘n’ glam world of the Hindi film industry. Simply because she had a mountain of odds stacked against her. First, she dared to foray into the big bad world of cinema from the chota sa pyaara sa world of television. Fine, SRK, the Badshah of the film industry managed to pole-vault the leap of faith perfectly but how many heroines can say the same? Furthermore, this saree clad, beautiful Indian face stood out like a sore thumb amongst the milieu of sexy, super glam heroines. She wasn’t svelte like the others so was body shamed. Her style of dressing was given a severe dressing down at every given time. In fact, at a public event, heroes like Saif Ali Khan and SRK even made digs at the way she was dressed. And if that didn’t kill her… In this hero obsessed ‘male dominated’ film industry, she was one heroine who preferred not to be an ‘appendage’ of the hero, instead showed her calibre as an actor rather than her glam side, so unlike the prototype heroines of today. So there was a humongous chance of her falling flat on her face, being tagged a flop and being totally forgotten about.

But no, this amazing actor was of a different calibre. Not one to give up, she fought the odds along with the misbalanced structure of the film industry. Whether it was as the sultry Parineeta, in Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture, or Kahaani, she showed her prowess as an exceptional actor and… the audience loved her. And she was heralded as the new ‘hero’ of the film industry.