Not Everyone Wants to Rant, Slap: Vidya Balan on Sherni's Feminism

Amit Masurkar directorial 'Sherni' stars Vidya Balan as forest officer Vidya Vincent.

Vidya Balan plays Vidya Vincent in her recent film Sherni, a forest officer who must complete her task while tackling multiple hurdles along the way. The film has been appreciated by critics and audiences, especially for the strong female lead.

In a recent interview, Balan opened up about the idea of feminism portrayed in Sherni and the way Vincent breaks the stereotype of the 'strong female character'. Balan also revealed that she was skeptical about the way she was essaying the role.

"It has been a revelation for me. I was worried that maybe in this effort to be non-reactive, I was not conveying much. That is why I keep saying I owe my performance to Amit Masurkar and I am glad I trusted his conviction completely," she said.

Referring to the 'non-confrontational' character Balan plays in the film, she said, "Like you said, we have also stereotyped the strong woman, no? That’s why I was talking about the reactive culture like everyone has to have a reaction. They have to be aggressive."

"For a strong woman, you are invariably aggressive. You will voice opinions loudly… I don’t know maybe have more reactions, maybe slap two-three people when they behave badly. But I think Vidya Vincent is a very strong woman. There’s no one talking about that. She is a doer and I think a strong woman is someone, who is a doer. But there’s no one type of strong woman. Therefore, I appreciate the way Amit has broken that stereotype with this film."

Vidya Balan to Indian Express

Balan added that Vincent's strength comes from the way she 'chooses her battles'. For instance, Vincent deals with her husband and mother-in-law differently. She also uses different tactics when it comes to Bansal (Brijendra Kala) and Nangia (Neeraj Kabi).

Everyone Has Their Own Way: Vidya Balan

Referring to the climax of her film Hamari Adhuri Kahani, she said that many people didn't like the ending where her character walks away but she believes that it was 'empowering' in its own way.

"But my point is that her moment of truth or her moment of so called “empowerment” came from her walking away from her marriage. Not everyone wants to scream, shout, rant and slap. Everyone has their own way."

Vidya Balan, Actor

However, Vidya does agree that the need for women to make this distinction in the way they react to situations is frustrating. "I think we judge women far more than we judge men. Maybe men don't get judged at all," she commented.

Today, Your Battles Are Very Different: Vidya Balan

Vidya theorised that this discrepancy rises from a 'new reality' for women where their battles have changed over time.

"But I guess that’s also because this is a fairly new reality for us where we are not only handling the home and our families but we are also going out and conquering the world. There was only one battle before. The battle of having to keep your man," she told Indian Express.

"But today, your battles are very different. There are many battles we are fighting at the same time. So, I am saying the more we reject and ignore these judgments passed, people will get tired and stop."

Vidya Balan to Indian Express

Sherni is just another film wherein Vidya Balan plays a role that breaks the stereotype of a 'Bollywood heroine'. She has been known to choose films that have unconventional tropes for women, especially women oriented films like Kahaani, Shakuntala Devi, Mission Mangal, and Tumhari Sulu.

Sherni, directed by Amit Masurkar with screenplay by Aastha Tiku, also stars Mukul Chadda, Neeraj Kabi, Vijay Raaz, Sharat Saxena, Brijendra Kala, and others.