Given the usually demure actor’s new racy act, has she researched any porn films to prepare for the role? “Not yet, though I think porn is more of a guy thing,” she responds. “But a friend of mine recently lent me a few world movies to watch and I was completely traumatised by this film called Caligula (1979 movie on Roman emperor Caligula featuring explicit sex and violence scenes). It’s not really porn, but it freaked me out.”
Speaking of occupational hazards, Vidya was apparently asked to pile on the pounds to convincingly play the south siren. “We were Vidyawondering if I should put on weight for the role, but luckily we decided against it. It will be my interpretation, not an impersonation,” she says.
Too bad, given she could have launched the anti-size zero look… “Oh I’ve always loved my womanly curves,” Vidya laughs. “I’ve never been skinny. Though that doesn’t mean I can eat as I please. In fact, when I was shooting for Kahaani in Kolkata, I complained to my director Sujoy (Ghosh) that I couldn’t eat like a pregnant woman despite playing one.”
Vidya recalls a time when her weight was literally giving her sleepless nights. “I’ve had a sleeping problem since I was in school, I couldn’t fall asleep before 4 am. Then about two years ago, I started putting on weight and everyone started writing about it,” she recalls, adding, “I set my diet straight but to no avail. Then my doctor asked me how many hours I was sleeping, which were about three-four. She explained how it wasn’t enough and that’s the reason I was gaining weight despite working out.”
Vidya, who is the brand ambassador for Sleep Awareness Month, admits that her sleep disorder had changed her personality. “I was edgy, suffered from low energy and was constantly restless,” she says. “It took a great deal of time to correct my sleep cycle, given half my life of abuse, but now my eyes start shutting earlier than I’d like them to.”
