IFFI 2023: Shattering the glass ceiling with Vidya Balan
There was a time when the Indian film industry was not even close to what it is today. “If the protagonist of a film was a woman then the first hurdle was that the film would probably not get produced, it would not get financed, it would never be made, and even if it was made, it would not find its release. But you broke that glass ceiling by doing films like The Dirty Picture, and everything around us shattered! Let’s take a look at those little pieces of glass, today,” began Indian actress and politician, Vani Tripathi Tikoo.
It was then that Vidya Balan’s loud, but humble cackle, filled the auditorium of Kala Academy, where Bollywood’s game changing woman and ‘hamari pyaari si Chembur ki ladki,’ as Vani addressed her, was seated. The actress was in conversation with Vani at the 54th International Film Festival of India.
Vidya and Vani, (or V square as they called themselves) go way back. And, the evening session that was interestingly titled, ‘Women and the Glass Ceiling’, acted as a perfect ruse to reunite.
“Globally when I go and talk about women in cinema, I always start with Vidya Balan,” said Vani to which Vidya was quick to clap back and say, “I think the biggest credit for this goes to Ekta Kapoor.”
The smiling woman in red then added, “Although I am credited for being the face of this change, I strongly believe that it is the work of everyone before me and every female actor that did the so-called ‘inconsequential roles’ that have brought us to this space.”
She explained that she was not being modest when she pushed compliments over to the others that contributed to her success, but rather, strongly believed that they deserved the credit for bringing out the best in the characters that she played, and that it was just the matter of being at the right place at the right time for her.
“It is only because the world is changing and women have now taken centre stage in their lives, that we are now okay to see a reflection of reality on the big screen,” she added. Besides, women in the 21st century are not being defined by the relationships with the men in their lives anymore, she said and added, “We are our own people and it is because we are our own people that is what we’re seeing in cinema.”
The days of seeing women playing sacrificial roles of mothers or the all-enduring wives have ended, and we are grateful for that, she said, and spoke about how a film like The Dirty Picture was liberating and changed her life. It made her realise that we are no one to judge others, and helped her evolve as a person.
It was only moments later than Vani put in the petition for Vidya, a trained classical musician, to sing. “I trained in classical music, but if I didn’t quit, my guru would have!” she joked, before breaking into song and singing the track, Piyu Bole, a song from her film, Parineeta.
Another sensitive topic that the duo addressed was how body shaming is something that has become normalised. But, Vidya’s short and sweet message said, “Forget about how you are judged by other people, how you judge yourself is what is really important.” This not only resonated with the audience, but remained in their minds long after the session had ended.
“Your body is what is keeping you alive and it must be honoured at all costs, even if you don’t feel good today, that’s okay, just fake it till you make it,” she concluded.