[Beerinkol]

Nadhiya is also quite bad at being 'sensual'. She is rather 'inert' in many ways..

[HedgeYourBets]

But where was she trying to do sensual roles to begin with?

Even with Shalini, I've to admit that it's just 'alai pAyuthE' and (to some extent) 'kaNNukkuL nilavu' that swayed me. (But then she did only a few films, of which I've actually seen only 3 or 4.)

[tgs]

equa, you must see iniya uravu poothadhu.
However, I prefer to watch this exchange from the sidelines - the whole intent was to provoke this discussion and stay back and watch

[LottiFurmann]

Plum,
LOL, பார்த்துட்டா போச்சு! ஷாலினி case எப்படி இருந்தாலும், வித்யா பாலனைப் பொறுத்தவரை, நிறைய படம் பாத்தாச்சுன்னு நினைக்கிறேன். (நான் Parineeta பார்த்தபோதே "விழுந்துட்டேங்கறதும்" உண்மை.)

[tgs]

Equa,
You greatly overrate Vidya's coquettish demeanor.

[Slonopotam845]

Oh well, what can one say... Is there any kind of interest that's more inexplicable than this one?

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

Haha, okay.

[Slonopotam845]

Plum,
LOL, பார்த்துட்டா போச்சு! ஷாலினி case எப்படி இருந்தாலும், வித்யா பாலனைப் பொறுத்தவரை, நிறைய படம் பாத்தாச்சுன்னு நினைக்கிறேன். (நான் Parineeta பார்த்தபோதே "விழுந்துட்டேங்கறதும்" உண்மை.)

Cue sub-texts about even the most evolved, enlightened youth preferring the domesticated/seemingly domesticatable woman and the inevitable male chauvinist imprint of the society

[doctorzlo]

'some kind of a 'authentic' figure for certain type of roles ' in terms of Educated city-bred girl (around 80's Tamil cinema) who doesn't fit into Tamil stereotypes (which are played by Ambika, Ramya Krishnan, Gauthami, etc) where there's a necessity to be 'domesticated' and the woman put to her place.

Uh, but where is the sensual bit here?

The closest she came to being sensual was, I think, when she wore a pair of dark glasses to intimidate S. Ve. Shekar in 'pUvE pUchchUda vA.'

[Paul Bunyan]

Originally Posted by kid-glove 'some kind of a 'authentic' figure for certain type of roles ' in terms of Educated city-bred girl (around 80's Tamil cinema) who doesn't fit into Tamil stereotypes (which are played by Ambika, Ramya Krishnan, Gauthami, etc) where there's a necessity to be 'domesticated' and the woman put to her place.

But where is the sensual bit here? The closest she came to being sensual was, I think, when she wore a pair of dark glasses to intimidate S. Ve. Shekar in 'pUvE pUchchUda vA.' Songs and the lead-up to Songs, romantic bits, etc..

[Drugmachine]

I personally wouldnt rank Vidya Balan along the Nadhiya prototype. Her sensuality also seems a hit-and-miss affair - the very homeliness adding a layer of sensualtiy that was discernible in Parineeta but not much otherwise when she is to be seen as a regular, 'maadern figar'. I am with kid_glove on ishqiya - epic fail.

And kid, it was me who brought in Smita Patil. Yes, she would have smoked out Ishqiya. Infact, I recently wrote about the power she wielded in her eyes and in her disposition. Hers is the kind of sensuality which is not attractive in the regular sense but I can imagine that she could shake even the most proud of men and run them around her fingers for breakfast. Smouldering is just a starting point to describer her sensualtiy.
Even in the most docile of her roles, it stood out - one of the reasons why Azmi could trump her in some of the roles.

[Raj_Copi_Jin]

In Balan's case, I don't really buy her coquetries as 'authentic'. OTOH I think there's a vibe of a non-sensual (celibate) house woman that comes naturally to her. Nadhiya's inertness also perhaps makes her more of untouchable 'girl-next-door' territory than a flirting type.

[tgs]

Originally Posted by kid-glove Vidya doesn't quite show right gestures of being 'sensual'. At least, there aren't enough 'suggestions' of such. There isn't a semblance of 'pleasure' there (on the other hand, Shalini does do it for me in AlaipayuthE - especially in songs)

Oddly, I've heard some people say quite the opposite -- that she self-consciously plays her roles in a coquettish way. And actually I agree with that. I think the whole discussion stems from this fact. And I opined contrarily.

[LottiFurmann]

Originally Posted by equanimus Originally Posted by kid-glove Vidya doesn't quite show right gestures of being 'sensual'. At least, there aren't enough 'suggestions' of such. There isn't a semblance of 'pleasure' there (on the other hand, Shalini does do it for me in AlaipayuthE - especially in songs)

Oddly, I've heard some people say quite the opposite -- that she self-consciously plays her roles in a coquettish way. And actually I agree with that. I think the whole discussion stems from this fact. And I opined contrarily. This whole thing about her 'sensuality' struck my mind (And her failure to show such in Ishqiya) after this bit of praise:

Husain seemed particularly smitten with Balan, saying he would like to cast her in a film some day. 'I'm absolutely bowled over by Vidya Balan. She conveys pure Indianness, feminine, sensual, without making an effort.'

[Lt_Apple]

Cue sub-texts about even the most evolved, enlightened youth preferring the domesticated/seemingly domesticatable woman and the inevitable male chauvinist imprint of the society

Ha, I wager it'd be much more rewarding to examine the men who have an acute lack of fascination with "seemingly domesticable women," considering that those women represent a good chunk of the female population of our society.

[Ifroham4]

And, come on guys, why do you have to raise the bar so high? Isn't Smita Patil obviously a tall order?!

[Lt_Apple]

Well, you've got to compete with the best

As I said, I am not particularly against Vidya Balan. If you want to lower the bar, I'd present Madhoo, (minus the innumerable Kannada, Telugu and Hindi roles where she wsa basically there to get drenched in the rain etc.). Look at even something like Yeshwant - she oozes sensuality in a everyday 'homely' way (ofcourse like Bala said, that's her default mode so maybe it is the smartness of the director to exploit it for that role for that scene!).

Put in a different way, there seems to be a fakeness in VB's "participative" sensual depictions, as though forcefully rushing out of her frigid, inhibited persona. Obviously, my take is that she hasnt quite reached "Her Nadia ness" levels in this respect but has covered enough in that direction to cross over to nadhiya's side

[Ifroham4]

It was tough to walk the tightrope in the last comment - where voyeurism ends and where dispassionate analysis begins is a question - but the idea was to see where the dismissal comes from

[9mm_fan]

Frankly, I simply fail to sense even a remote link between Nadiya and Vidya here. Neither the attempts at portraying sensuality that kid-glove finds in Nadiya's "[s]ongs and the lead-up to Songs, romantic bits, etc.." nor how Vidya "has covered enough in that direction to cross over to nadhiya's side," when she's actually making the opposite move (even if one thinks she fails in it). So let's just agree to disagree.