My character in 'Ishqiya' oozes sensuality: Vidya Balan

After playing an ideal mother in "Paa", Vidya Balan says she is ready to surprise audiences with a completely different avatar in forthcoming movie "Ishqiya". She will be seen as a conniving, scheming woman in Vishal Bharadwaj's dark drama.

"For the first time I'll be playing a woman who is conniving, scheming and in whom there is a sexual aggression," Vidya told IANS in an interview.

"She is an aggressive person. She is someone who is unapologetic about her own choices. Bold is the word I'll use for the lack of a better word. In the Indian context, she would be Rambha, Durga or Kali. She is someone who is dressed from top to toe but oozes sensuality," the actress said.

Set in eastern Uttar Pradesh, "Ishqiya" is a tale of romance between individuals caught in a web of crime, suspense, passion and deceit. Made by first time director Abhishek Chaubey and produced by Bharadwaj, the film also stars Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah in pivotal roles.

In the film, Vidya sports a deglamourised look and mouths expletives.

Asked if Bharadwaj was the reason she signed "Ishqiya", she said: "It's always very reassuring when the producer is an established guy because when you take a film, you want to know that no compromises will be made while making the film and even after it gets released.

"Of course Vishal comes with a certain brand and credibility...but more importantly I loved the role offered to me. I wouldn't have given it up. Along with that I loved Abhishek's passion and sensibility. So it was a combination of all these things when I made my decision."

The 31-year-old is also looking forward to Sanjay Leela Bhansali's "Chenaab Gandhi" in which she plays Amitabh Bachchan's daughter.

After receiving flak for doing glamorous roles, Vidya has moved to author-backed characters in "Paa", "Chenaab Gandhi" and "Ishqiya". But she says her choice of roles is not a conscious effort to change her image.

"It's not a conscious decision to try and stay away from a particular kind of roles. There is no effort for an image change. It's just that I'm just being offered a lot of exciting work and I've tried to pick and choose different things to keep it very exciting for me," she said.

"Of course, candyfloss is still welcome if it comes with substance, but the very fact that it's candyfloss takes away the substance. So I don't do that much candyfloss because it compromises on substance," added the actress.

Vidya has earlier been seen in films like "Parineeta", "Heyy Babyy", "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" and "Kismat Konnection".

I'm done with trying to be someone I'm not: Vidya Balan

After receiving flak from critics, Vidya Balan has now managed to impress them with her performance in "Paa". The actress is now looking forward to "Ishqiya" and "Chenaab Gandhi" to strengthen her position and says she won't do roles she doesn't identify with.

"Isn't that amazing? It's taken a lot of getting used to. But I feel blessed. I'm done with trying to be someone I'm not," Vidya, who will be seen as Amitabh Bachchan's daughter in "Chenaab Gandhi", told IANS.

"I went through a period of tremendous turmoil when I was struggling to do roles that didn't come naturally to me. But now in hindsight I think that confusion helped me pick 'Paa', 'Ishqiya' and 'Chenaab Gandhi'. It's gratifying to know today directors think of me for specific roles and not just as one of many choices."

Vidya became an overnight sensation after her debut film "Parineeta" (2005), but later earned flak for her clothes in "Heyy Babyy" and for doing a film like "Kismat Konnection".

Thanks to director R. Balakrishnan's "Paa", in which she plays a single mother whose son suffers from progeria, a disease that accelerates the ageing process, she has regained past glory.

Though she played a perfect mother in "Heyy Babyy" and "Paa", Vidya can't get along with kids in real life.

"If I hold a baby for a while I get stressed. In 'Heyy Babyy', the baby would bawl every time I had to carry it. In 'Paa', I had to mother a man who was far older. It took a lot of getting used to. The fact that Mr. Bachchan kept referring to me as 'Maa' as soon he entered the sets, sure helped," she said.

A lot is being said about her aesthetic clothes in "Paa".

"All thanks to Sabyasachi Mukherjee I think he understood my body language and my personality perfectly. And he dressed me up beautifully without overstepping the parameters of my character."

Vidya Balan promotes her film Paa

There's something magical about Abhishek's eyes: Vidya Balan

When "Paa" came her way, Vidya Balan was excited about sharing screen space with superstar Amitabh Bachchan, but was equally looking forward to working with Abhishek again. The actress is all admiration for Bachchan junior, who she says is an "instinctive" actor and has "something so magical about his eyes".

"When 'Paa' came to me, working with Mr. Bachchan was a definite incentive. However, the fact remains that I was actually looking forward to working with Abhishek too. We have acted in 'Guru' earlier and I know for sure that he is a fantastic co-actor," Vidya told IANS.

Vidya is particularly impressed about Abhishek's 'no rehearsal' stand that results in an "intuitive" acting experience.

"Since Abhishek doesn't rehearse, you don't really know what he is going to do when the director calls for a shot," she said. "When a take is called, there is so much give and take that actors exchange. This is why when he starts delivering his dialogues; you react in a way that was probably never planned. It eventually helps you bring about something intuitive."

"...But then there is this intrinsic honesty to his act as well. He always tries to do something that enhances a scene. Also, there is something so magical about his eyes, which have a language of their own. This is something that I had said even during the time of 'Guru' and I am glad he has retained this quality even after all these years," Vidya added.

So was she game to playing Amitabh's mother or did she require much convincing?

"Frankly I wasn't too sure," confesses Vidya, who has earlier worked with Amitabh in Vidhu Vinod Chopra- directed 'Eklavya - The Royal Guard'. "I had no clue if (director) Balki would actually be offering me a role of Mr. Bachchan's mother. Since I had seen 'Cheeni Kum', the maximum that I would have expected out of 'Paa' was to play a lead opposite him."

Vidya was in for a surprise when Balki explained the film's idea to her.

"I didn't really know how to react. Here I was playing Abhishek Bachchan's love interest as well as his real father's reel mother - all in one film. I was like 'wow, now what's that'! It took me some time to absorb this, but eventually I did say yes," Vidya said.

"Paa", which also stars Paresh Rawal in a key role, is set to release Friday.