Hyderabad: Vidya Balan is set to share screen space with superstar Rajinikanth in the much-anticipated film ‘Jailer 2’.
The actress recently opened up about her return to Tamil cinema, recalling how she was once labelled a ‘jinx’ after several projects were shelved or she was replaced before filming began.
Early in her career, Vidya faced setbacks in both Malayalam and Tamil cinema, including the shelving of Chakram, her Malayalam debut opposite Mohanlal.
“My dream is to do films in all the Indian languages over time. But definitely, because I’m a Tamilian, I’m excited about Jailer 2. I’m also ready for this. I had a lot of misses in both Malayalam and Tamil films at the beginning of my career. I was replaced even before the shooting because of that whole ‘jinx’ thing. So, for a while, I wasn’t mentally open to doing films in any language, but Hindi. But over time, I’ve matured and realised that was just the time. It doesn’t have to do with anything else. And as an actor, we’re hungry to do good roles,” Vidya was quoted as saying by SCREEN.
The actress also recalled filming a smoking scene with Rajinikanth, revealing that she experienced a physical reaction while performing in front of the superstar.
“I don’t know if it was inhibition. But it was my body having a reaction because the nicotine hit me. Then I began to get stressed because I had to steady my hand. So, I had a physical reaction. Of course, I was conscious that I was blowing smoke in his face, but I’m not shy about smoking on screen. It was just that my body wasn’t used to it,” she said.
A sequel to Rajinikanth’s 2023 blockbuster ‘Jailer’, ‘Jailer 2’ is directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Sun Pictures.
The film will see the superstar reprise his role as Tiger Muthuvel Pandian.
Vidya joins an ensemble cast featuring Mithun Chakraborty, S J Suryah, Ramya Krishnan, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff.
The action entertainer is scheduled to release in theatres on October 15.