Jalsa: Vidya Balan opens up about her character in her and Shefali Shah’s film

Vidya Balan is riding the wave of the positive reviews that her performance in Jalsa garnered her. In the film, the actress essays the role of a journalist named Maya. The Sherni actor recently opened up about her intense character.

In a conversation with The Indian Express, Balan talked about how Maya was written as a person who is ‘difficult to read’ and someone who is ‘dependable’. Jalsa’s story revolves around a hit and run case of an 18-year-old girl, and Balan pointed at how the incident had destroyed Maya’s self image. The actress said that it was interesting to explore how her character reacted to the predicament she found herself in, vastly different from her usual circumstances. While she usually put the focus on others, the events in the film had forced the lens to be pointed towards her.

Balan also opened up about the kind of offers she has received over the course of her career, saying that there were many instances where people had ‘shamelessly’ offered her some roles she was not flattered by. She said that such people had no misgivings and decided to ‘take chances’ with the offers like that.

She also said that she considered herself fortunate to have received some good roles, which have only gotten better with time. Despite having some ups and downs in her career, Balan said that she is proud of all the work she’s done. She also talked about the welcome change she sees in the industry today, with there being many ‘strong’ parts for female actors, giving the example of her Jalsa co-star, Shefali Shah. “Look at Shefali, she is probably the busiest actor after she crossed 40, and with the right kind of work on her plate,” said Balan.

Jalsa can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.