Vidya, the Humpty Dumpty!

She was in Delhi for over a month to shoot for her forthcoming movie No One Killed Jessica. And before she packed her bags for Mumbai earlier in May, Vidya Balan spoke to TOI about eating paranthas in Chandni Chowk, her first stay at JNU and joining the ‘I Love Delhi’ club.
‘We’ve shot everywhere in Delhi’
While Vidya’s sister and brother-in-law have been in Delhi for the past two and a half years, it’s only now that she has become attached to the city.She says, “I love the place even more than I did earlier because when I stay somewhere for a longer period of time, I get attached. Delhi is a place that I’ve been coming to for years. There was anyway a special fondness, but now there’s an attachment as well. I’ve woken up here every morning; gone to shoot... we’ve shot on the streets, actually, just about everywhere. Every time I think of the film now, it’ll be linked to Delhi. And every time I think of Delhi, it’ll be linked to No One Killed Jessica.”
‘Khan Market is beautiful’
During the first couple of weeks in Delhi, Vidya went with her manager to Khan Market for some shopping. While she was happily checking out shops, word of her being there spread and within minutes a crowd had gathered to meet her. Says Vidya, “I ate twice at Khan Market and indulged myself silly. I checked out a lot of shops here. But, the first day, as soon as I came out of one of the shops, there were at least 500 people outside. I had to call for my car and leave immediately.”
‘Chandni Chowk is crazy; I had paranthas at Paranthe Wali Gali’
Vidya’s glad that the shooting helped her explore many places in Delhi, including Chandni Chowk. She even managed to tuck in a parantha, while there. She told us, “I haven’t been able to go to Bangla Sahib, but Inshallah, there’s always a next time. I did go to Chandni Chowk. And, it was crazzzzzy. The kind of energy there is phenomenal. I’d just read about purani Dilli. I finally got to see all of that. Even though I couldn’t visit Jama Masjid, I saw many other things and completely soaked in the spirit of old Delhi. I went to the Paranthe Wali Gali. Oh yes, I did. I allowed myself a few concessions and thought ki ek parantha kha lete hain. For almost 15 years, I wanted to eat that one parantha, ever since I’d seen it on a television show. So, I’m glad I got to do that.”
‘I stayed in JNU with my best friend years ago’
Vidya stayed in Lutyens’ Delhi during this visit, but couldn’t help recall her first visit to Delhi. She had stayed with a friend at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). She says, “My first trip to Delhi started with JNU. One of my closest friends, Swati, was studying in there. She asked me if I’d want to stay with her. So, I stayed with her at Aravali hostel. I remember eating at Ganga Dhaba there, and having lots of cups of chai, like everyone else. We even climbed atop the Parthasarthy Rock, and one of our friends just got into the bushes and behaved as if he’d been possessed. The rest of just ran in the opposite direction – that’s my first memory of Delhi... we’d walked towards east gate after that. It was beautiful.”
‘I haven’t met Sabrina’
Even though the movie is based on Sabrina Lall’s fight for slain model Jessica Lall, Vidya didn’t meet her. She does “hope to meet” Sabrina some time, but at this point, the director wanted her to create a person on her own. She added, “Sabrina was kind enough to share all the facts with us. But, the director and I agreed to create our own character after that.”
‘Yeh chaudi sarkein... I envy you guys for that’
The entire trip’s been like a dream for Vidya, who says, “The beauty of Delhi never ceases to strike me. I’ve been here so many times and I keep saying... yeh chaudi sarkein... those tree-lined streets... they have a different charm. The white houses in Lutyen’s Delhi... the kind of space you have in Delhi. I envy you guys for that.” While in Delhi, Vidya also made sure she shopped for some interesting art. She told us, “I’ve picked some interesting art. While exploring the city, I found some interesting places and picked up many things.”
‘I can now say I’ve joined the Delhi fan club’
While her colleagues spoke about shooting in Delhi, Vidya felt alienated. She explains, “I’ve had such a blast shooting here. I used to feel so envious earlier, when friends would talk about shooting in Delhi... you know, from movies like Dilli 6, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye... Everyone would come back and say... arrey Dilli mein shoot karne mein bada mazza aata hai. Now, even I can go back and talk about my experience. I too have joined the Delhi fan club!”
‘I had no maternal bone in me’
On her last day in the city, Vidya visited a pre-school, The Playhouse, in Central Delhi. Her friend, Pooja Jain, is the director of the school and had invited Vidya to interact with the toddlers. Talking about her experience with the children, Vidya said, “I really had no maternal bone in me. I’ve said it before also and people never took me seriously, they just thought I was overwhelmed by Paa. But, Auro actually awakened the mother in me. Earlier, I would be okay for three minutes with kids, but then I would run away. I would be petrified with the fact that they would demand so much attention and ask so many questions. Now, I’m far more comfortable with kids. Also, I came here because Pooja invited me.”
‘I had to play humpty dumpty in pre-school’
Remembering her own days in pre-school, Vidya told us that she’d once been selected to play the character of Humpty Dumpty. She says, “I was to play Humpty Dumpty in a skit and we did rehearsals one whole day. After that, everyone started calling me Humpty Dumpty. I was really fat. So, I came back home really upset and I told my mother, I don’t wana play Humpty Dumpty, and if u want me to play the character, I’ll not go to school. So, my father had to request my teacher to take someone else for the role.”
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