Vidya Balan spoke about her experience on set opposite Rajinikanth, revealing that she was visibly nervous while filming a scene with him where she also had to smoke a cigarette. Director Nelson Dilipkumar and SJ Suryah chimed in about working with Balan.
Vidya Balan, who makes her full-scale Tamil film debut with Jailer 2, has opened up about starring opposite Rajinikanth, as well as on-set anecdotes from working with director Nelson Dilipkumar and co-actor SJ Suryah.
Speaking at the Jailer 2 Super Show recently, alongside the film's cast and crew, the actor revealed that she was visibly nervous while filming a scene with the superstar, adding that having to smoke a cigarette simultaneously heightened her nerves. Director Nelson Dilipkumar recalled how the cigarette in her hand was shaking; Balan quipped that it was shaking on its own.
Balan recalled times when Nelson would improvise scenes on set, leaving the actor in a jam since she is not quite fluent in Tamil. "One day, right before the shoot, he gave me one and a half pages of (new) dialogues. I stood there, wondering how I was going to do it, given that I also had to smoke a cigarette while delivering the lines."
Balan spoke highly of Nelson, calling him an all-round director who can balance everything in his projects. "He balances humour, entertainment, drama, song and dance, action, and everything else. His movies are like Bhel Puri — they have everything. Nelson’s vision is very clear. I just followed what he asked me to do."
At the event, SJ Suryah, who plays Bodhi Kalpak in the film, recounted how Balan's demeanour on set would change as soon as she had to learn her Tamil dialogues. "She will be having so much fun with us, but as soon as she gets lengthy Tamil dialogues, she will immediately go silent and start learning them by heart like a schoolgirl."
Jailer 2 will be released in theatres on October 15.