The right man hasn't come along yet: Vidya Balan

One of the most talented actresses among the new lot, Vidya Balan dismisses romantic link-ups with her "Salaam-e-Ishq" co-star John Abraham saying she hasn't found Mr. Right yet. "We got along well enough for people to notice. But an affair! Have a heart! I haven't found a man I'd like to spend my life with. When he comes along, I'll give up everything, career included. Do you think I'd risk that kind of commitment at this stage of my career when things are going well?"

So what's the truth about John?

"We just got along well shooting 'Salaam-e-Ishq', as we were supposed to. So maybe people saw us getting along well and made up their own screenplay. From the little I know of Bipasha Basu, she's a no-nonsense honest person. She won't take such rubbish lying down," Vidya told IANS.

She was also linked with Sanjay Dutt.

"Poor thing! He's become so self-conscious after our link-up stories, he mumbles a hello and moves away."

Vidya says she knows how the story of her so-called affair with Sanjay was planted.

"After interviewing me the journalist called the next day to ask if something was up between me and Sanju. Obviously, the editor must have said, 'Vidya not interesting enough. Masala maro.' I'd rather be uninteresting than known for my link-ups," said Vidya who had four releases in the past one year.

"After 'Lage Raho Munna Bhai', 'Eklayva' and 'Guru' last year, the next year started for me with 'Salaam-e-Ishq'. There I played this fey and feisty woman married to John Abraham."

Revealing the rare side to her personality which people don't notice too often, she said: "I do have a sense of humour. That's why I enjoyed doing 'Lage Raho...' so much. I had a ball shooting with Sanju and Arshad."

In "Hey Baby" Vidya is cast as the baby's mother.

"I don't mind playing a mom if the role is as charming as the one in 'Hey Baby'. In fact I've no reservations about anything. Just bring on the challenging characters."

But it is Priyadarshan's "Chandramukhi" which would be a big challenge for Vidya since she plays a classical dancer in it.

"Since I'm a Tamil Iyer Brahmin, I'm trained in Carnatic singing. I was also trained in Bharatnatyam for a while but I lost interest. Later I took up Kathak and got busy with other things. But I need to brush up my dancing for 'Chandramukhi'. I've seen what Shobana has done in the original Malayalam film. I adore Shobana. To match steps with her would be impossible."

Isn't there a danger of Vidya getting typecast as the old-world heroine after doing "Parineeta" and now "Chandramukhi"?

"I don't mind the era and aura as long as the role is challenging. It's not as if I'm only playing old-world roles. In 'Lage Raho...' and 'Salaam-e-Ishq' I'm very much a woman of today."

Though Vidya is pivotal to 'Lage Raho...' she admits she didn't have that much to do in Vinod Chopra's 'Eklavya' and Mani Ratnam's 'Guru'.

"Just the thrill of working with directors like Vinod Chopra and Mani Ratnam is enough incentive to be part of their films," she said.

By Subhash K. Jha, Indo-Asian News Service