While Vidya Balan is gearing up to play mathematician Shakuntala Devi on screen, director Anu Menon says that the look test is yet to be done but it will be a different joy to work on a period drama. Anu says, “We haven’t done the look test yet, you all have to wait for that, and that is the joy of a period film that captures different eras and all of that. So how we do it will be a challenge for us. We have to do justice to the character, so we will reveal little by little as we go along.”
The director, who last worked on Four More Shots Please, cannot stop gushing about Vidya. “I never thought of anyone else other than Vidya for this film,” she says. Elaborating further, she says, “The first name came to my mind was hers. I went to her with just the idea and she loved the concept. We have been working since then. Shakuntala was ahead of her times what she did 50 years ago was incredible, and who better than Vidya (to play her)?” “She is incredible and she can take on things head on. Also, you need an actor who is fearless to pull off a role like this,” Anu adds.
When asked how she convinced Vidya to do the biopic, Anu says that the character resonated with her. “Vidya takes time to say yes. Once she believes in something, she goes all out. I think what Shakuntala stood for is still so relevant, so I think she saw something that resonated with her.”
