Vidya Balan gets into Bali mode

Vidya Balan, who will be seen playing Geeta Bali in a special appearance in Marathi film, Ek Albela, which follows Bhagwan Dada’s film career as an actor and director. 

Wanna play Geeta?
She says she got the role through make-up artiste Vidyadhar Bhatte, who she has worked with in the past (on Parineeta, Munnabhai and Bobby Jasoos), “During Bobby Jasoos, I told him that I wanted to act in a Marathi film. So he called me and said there’s a Marathi film on the life of Bhagwan Dada and it’s a special appearance and they wanted to know if I would like to play Geeta Bali. The moment he said Geeta Bali, I was interested and said, ‘Okay, let me meet them’. I liked what I heard in the director’s 15-minute narration. It’s fun even if you’re doing a special appearance!”

Dressing concerns
“Subarna Ray Chaudhuri is the costume designer of the film, though I did have my own inputs, like I do for every character. I got involved with the styling because firstly, you are recreating a film that people are familiar with and secondly playing a star who is very loved. I loved the period film per se, the way women dressed in the past, and each one had an individual style statement, identity and personality.”

Doing it all!
The actress sizzles as Geeta in Shola Jo Bhadke for the Marathi film. Vidya laughs “We have tried to recreate the flavour of that era. Choreographer Stanley D’Costa, with whom I did the Marathi song Mala Jau De (from Ferrari Ki Sawari) and his wife appreciated my performance. I find Geeta Bali extremely charming, the effervescence in her is so arresting… I loved her song Shaam Dhale Khidki Tale. They had told me that I would be dancing Shola Jo Bhadke and Bholi Soorat, so I said what about Shaam Dhale?  They told me that if I wanted to do it, I could do a bit of it. And they shot a part of the song for me because I wanted it, for my sake! I love that song!”   

The larger picture
Vidya was happy with the outcome. “For the songs, we had references, but none for scenes. It was nice to recreate the ambience of that era. We had to refer to Geeta Bali’s song videos to get in to the character. These are little things but all add up to the larger picture. This was Bhagwan Dada’s big film, he invested all  he had in Albela, so this is the highlight of his career. Unfortunately, this is the only film of his that we can watch because his other films got burnt at the archives I think.”     

Happy connection
Vidya feels she was destined to act in Ek Albela. “I don’t know whether Geeta Bali is as known amongst the younger generation now. I have watched Albela and have the poster in my Juhu home. Siddharth had 60-70 film posters in his house before we got married and when we got married and  were doing up the house Albela was the only film poster that I picked up and said, ‘Let’s put it up as it’s a happy poster.’ And what a coincidence that today I am doing the Marathi Albela! I really think I was meant to do it.”