Vidya Balan played the antagonist in the recently released Jailer 2. The Tamil actioner headlined by Rajinikanth has taken a fantastic opening, and the audience has been promised one more film in the universe. Vidya is expected to return as Kanta in Jailer 3. Known for pushing boundaries in the Hindi cinema industry, Balan forays into the Tamil fraternity after a long time. In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Vidya spoke about the cultural and working differences in Hindi and Tamil. The actress, a Tamilian herself, said she did not find it difficult to adapt to the cultural diversity.
Vidya Balan on fixed working hours in Tamil vs Hindi cinema industries
told Zoom exclusively, “Working in the Tamil industry did not feel alien to me. It is interesting because it is a different industry from Hindi. I shot for quite a long period of time. You realise that we’re all doing the same thing; we are telling stories, be it in the Hindi industry or Tamil. There are similarities and differences. For example, we did 9-to-6 shifts. I found that amazing because in Mumbai we work longer hours.”
Vidya Balan
Vidya Balan likes working everywhere
She added, “There are fixed working hours in Hindi also, but we tend to do slightly longer shifts. I love them. This was a new experience for me. I wondered what to do after 6 PM. I was living in a beautiful place close to a beach. I would go for an hour and walk on the beach after the shoot. That’s not a luxury I get while shooting for a Hindi film. No complaints, I like working everywhere.”
Vidya Balan on hypermasculinity in South cinema
In the same interview, Vidya agreed that South cinema is generally . “I did not sense hypermasculinity on Jailer 2’s set. South films are hypermasculine. Even I have noticed that they are hypermasculine. Let’s just hope that changes and there are more exciting roles for women in these films,” she said.
The actress further spoke about the lack of women-led movies in Indian cinema and said, “I hope that change happens. Even in Hindi cinema, we are not seeing that many female-led films. I hope we once again go through the time where the surge of women-led cinema, not just in Hindi cinema, but across languages. There are such interesting stories to be told.”
Jailer 2 is currently running successfully in theatres worldwide. The film is directed by Nelson Dilipkumar.