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It’s been a year full of work, and also link-ups, for Vidya Balan. But on the whole, she’s happy that it’s the work that gets more copy than the link-ups. “I have just laughed at the rumours. I am glad that it is my work that is generating more interest these days. As far as spicing up my life is concerned, leave that to me. I guess it’s high time I spice up my life on my own,” she laughs.

Considering Vidya turns 30 today, she would have loads of opportunity to do that by living it up. But that’s not what she’s doing. “I don’t generally have bashes or gala parties on my birthday,” she says. “Like always, I am going to be with my parents and close friends. I’m planning to take my parents out of town for a couple of days, that’s all.”

Vidya believes that if you begin the new year with a particular routine, then that’s what you’re going to do for the rest of the year too. Laughing, she says, “And that’s why, I’m going to spend the day exercising, reading books, listening to my favourite music and generally having a very busy day.” But the year gone by will always be very special for her - the year of her “good five releases. If Halla Bol had been released, it would have been six. I did a lot of different roles and experimented a lot in 2007. I have learnt how to handle a choc-a-bloc schedule.”

She feels that she’s also not as guarded as she used to be when she joined the industry. “I guess when you are introduced to something new, you take time to explore it. But now, I have become more assertive,” she says.

If sources are to be believed, Vidya Balan’s two left-feet act almost threw the shooting schedule of Aziz Mirza’s film, Lucky Charm (tentative title) out of gear. She had a tough time enacting the elaborate dance sequences that were shot in the streets of Toronto recently. Unit members were heard complaining that there were just too many retakes before Vidya could get her moves right.

A reliable source from the sets informs, “We have just shot two song sequences. Vidya just couldn’t get her moves right. She was extremely nervous dancing alongside Shahid Kapur, who is one of the best dancers in the industry.”

Initially, she had her reservations about filming on busy thoroughfares with traffic plying on either side. Later, she couldn’t get the timing right. Choreographer Ahmed Khan admits that Vidya needs to improve her dancing skills. He says, “Yes, there were a few retakes. Vidya took some time to get acquainted with my way. She was also distracted because we were shooting peak traffic hours. Eventually, she managed to pull it off.”

He further adds, “As for the rest of the songs, I intend to have thorough rehearsals before hitting the sets. I’m sure she will do well.”

Vidya Balan had a poor show on the sets of Priyadarshan’s Bhool Bhoolaiya, which is inspired from the 1993 Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu. Balan was supposed to do quite a few dance sequences, as her character is that of a trained dancer in the film. But her poor dancing skills prompted the director to rework the script.

When it comes to teasing the girls, there is no one better than Akshay Kumar. The actor almost made Vidya Balan cry with embarrassment recently while shooting for Heyy Babyy in Sydney. Akshay called Vidya pretending to be an Australian journalist, and even changed his voice while he spoke to her. He introduced himself and said he would like to interview her. Unsuspecting Vidya agreed, and they chatted for 20 minutes with Vidya innocently answering each and every question. Little did she know that Akshay had put her on speaker phone and the entire cast and crew who were privy to the conversation were simply cracking up throughout. When she finally came on the sets after the ‘interview’, everyone burst out laughing. Vidya obviously was quite embarrassed. Incidentally, while the tag line of Heyy Babyy claims that Vidya is the only girl to make the actors cry, looks like in real life, things are the exact opposite!

Unlike most celebrity women, Vidya Balan prefers to keep a low profile. The popular notion is that the actress doesn’t have an eventful life and therefore has little to offer to gossip columns. However, she is trying hard to toss away her ‘desi gal’ image. She has been working out at a gym and has been seen in itsy-bitsy western clothes. When quizzed about it, she almost hid under her bed. Her close friends explained that she is ‘too shy’ to talk about her exercise and diet regimen. “She is a private person and hates to talk about her life unnecessarily,” added the friend.

She made a debut with a role many actors can only dream of. We’re talking about Vidya Balan, who scorched the big screen with her performance in Parineeta. And the pretty actor - who will soon be seen in Heyy Babyy - hasn’t looked back ever since. But while many fans attribute her success to her affable smile and acting prowess, Vidya prefers to be modest about it. “I think I’ve just been very lucky and have the blessings of a lot of people. Above all I have God,” she says, adding, “I sometimes feel there’s a guardian angel out there taking care of me.”

So, is she very religious? “Not really. I am more spiritually inclined. But I do believe in making trips to Shirdi ke Sai Baba,” she adds. And do the box-office ratings really matter to her? “If a film does well, you obviously feel happy because you’ve seen everyone put in so much effort and hard work. If it doesn’t work, you are bound to feel bad, but I prefer learning from my mistakes, rather than brooding over them,” she reveals. “And I have always believed in ‘all for the best’! I am sure every success and failure teaches you something,” she says rather philosophically. But let’s hope that this talented actor has more of successes to learn from. What say?

The vivacious Vidya Balan is fed up of being linked up with her various co-stars, her irritation getting more evident when asked about her alleged proximity with John Abraham. “I guess people are desperately trying to link me up with someone or the other as I am single,” she nevertheless explains with a smile. Vidya adds that it could also be because she shares a fine rapport with all her costars. “I have been extremely fortunate to work with the best - Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Sanjay Dutt, John Abraham and now Akshay Kumar, Sajid Khan and Ritiesh Deshmukh. All of them are fun to be with. I am comfortable with all of them,” she explains.

So did she plan her career moves carefully to bag such prestigious offers? “I have never sat down and planned my career. People have been just nice to me. I have been fortunate enough to bag good roles. I am not the type who plans anything. I didn’t make any strategies in the past nor will I do so in the future. I just go with the flow,” she answers.

In director Sajid Khan’s debut film ‘Hey Babyy’, for the first time the Indian beauty has been given a glamorous western look by fashion designer Manish Malhotra. Vidya says, “I love my look in the film. It’s different. The credit for the same goes to Sajid and Manish.” Sajid has roped in a few heroines to shake a leg for a number in the film. Vidya comments, “I have not featured in the song. But I attended the shoot. All of them looked stunning. I told Sajid that I better look good in the film!”

Is love finally happening in Vidya Balan’s life? That is what you wonder as you listen to Vidya’s caller tune - Gum hai kisi ke pyaar mein. The actress takes but a few seconds to clear up any doubts. “I have this song as my caller tune
because I love the song, not because I am in love with somebody. I really love the way Rekha looks in this song,” she adds.

However, Vidya is no stranger to speculations about link-ups. She laughs, “While shooting for Heyy Babyy, I told all my male colleagues - Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Boman Irani and Sajid Khan — that they should be ready, for people will soon link me up with all of them. And if I would be linked with just one of them, it would be interesting to see which one.”

But what’s with Vidya and her male colleagues? “I guess I have so many alleged ‘affairs’ because I am not in a relationship. People think that my life can not be so dull and keep on doing their bit to perk it up,” the actress says.

Do these rumours really affect her equation with her male colleagues? “By the time I was linked with John, we had already finished shooting for the movie. Even otherwise, it would not have been awkward as we know this is part of the package. But yes, I was a bit scared when I was linked with Sanjay Dutt. However, he is a very seasoned man and these things don’t matter for him,” she says.

Then she laughs and adds, “And to think that at one point of time I actually thought I was ugly and jinxed.” How is that? “That was at the beginning of my career. I was dropped from my first two South Indian films for undisclosed reasons. I was dropped from the third on the grounds of non-performance. By that time, I had stopped looking in the mirror. I was very low on self-confidence after all the rejections.” But the jinx was not meant to last forever. “The jinx finally broke after I did Euphoria’s Kabhi aana tu meri gali. Pradeep Sarkar noticed me through this song and thought I had the potential. That brought back my confidence too,” she says.

In Vidya Balan’s simplicity, lies her sensuousness, avers Rajkumar Santoshi who has seen Vidya essaying the difficult role of the woman behind Ajay Devgan’s success in Halla Bol. Says he, “Vidya has a very responsible role in the film. Her transformation from the small-town girl who loves a struggling actor to the woman who is a successful star-wife, her strife and how she confronts him with moral ethics is a remarkable graph of Vidya’s character, and she has played the role with aplomb.” Must say, the girl has really impressed Santoshi.

Vidya Balan may have started out in a traditional Indian role - clad in a sari and bindi - but her underlying sensuality was more than evident. “There is a lot between the ‘oomph’ and the ‘goody-goody’ image. And I am exploring the middle path - that of sensuality. Isn’t being subtle and suggestive more interesting?” she asks.

Sensuousness, says the actor, can be implied in many ways. “I am open to going by the diktats of the character. If I play a prostitute, I have to look sexy. But I will never wear a bikini. I have a block against it, and I am happy about the block.”

Vidya is currently in Chennai shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Guru with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. Does she feel threatened by Aishwarya’s presence?

“I have no false notions. Ash is Ash. She is too big and is an international face. It was a humbling experience working with her,” she says and adds, “having said this, we portray two different characters, and we will shine out in our individual roles. There won’t be any comparisons.”

There are rumours of a romantic link-up between Vidya and Sanjay Dutt. “Oh, my God. How preposterous. These talks may have started because I am doing three films with him. But then I am doing two films with Saif as well. I am not in touch with Sanjay on phone or text. In fact, I am more in touch with my other co-stars like John Abraham.” She adds, “Sanjay is a warm and nice guy. He doesn’t make me feel like a newcomer.”

Earlier she was linked with her debut film director Pradeep Sarkar. “Dada (Sarkar) and his wife are like family to me. Initially, I was very disturbed by these reports. I spoke to my dad and he assured me that as long as my family knows the truth, it shouldn’t matter. Kuch toh log kahenge. Logon ka kaam hai kehna, that brought back my confidence,” she says with a smile.

Why is it so that actors have always been linked to their mentors (Waheeda Rehman-Guru Dutt, Ram Gopal Varma- Urmila)? “A mentor’s creation is an expression of his emotion. And the best way I can explain this relationship, is through the example of a potter and the clay. When you observe a potter moulding his clay, you see him holding it in a very sensuous manner to give it the right shape. There’s certainly a personal touch, but that’s all to it,” she clarifies.

“But, yes,” she continues, “I am fortunate to find Dada. In showbiz, everyone needs a support system. But there need not be a romantic undercurrent between a muse and her mentor,” she says.