We need to celebrate the weaves of India and feel pride in our handloom heritage”: Vidya Balan

We need to celebrate the weaves of India and feel pride in our handloom heritage. We begin to wear handloom garments more and need to preserve our legacy through these garments. People should promote these artisans to sustain their livelihood. Hence, we need to start supporting our artisans and weavers.” This was stated by actress Vidya Balan as the Chief Guest at FICCI FLO’s Warp and Weft of Stardom- Vidya Balan event which was organized to promote weavers and artisans in Karnataka. Vidya was in conversation with FICCI FLO’s National President Joyshree Das Verma and FLO Chairperson Dr. Nupur Handa. She candidly chit-chatted with the August gathering of FICCI FLO Women Wing Bengaluru Chapter’s vibrant women members at Hotel Taj Westend today. Guest of Honour of the program was FICCI FLO’S National President Joyshree Das Verma. Always wanted to be an actor, witty, spontaneous, smiling Vidya in black attire was looking remarkable. Belong to a modest middle-class family, Vidya at home is like every other Indian girl who wants to be loved by her family. 

Vidya emphasized that every woman should wear a saree as it allows a woman to be herself and one shouldn’t struggle to fit into it. Saree makes women feel confident and classy. Talking to FICCI FLO member and Lokmat representative Anubha Jain on the sidelines of the FICCI FLO program about how close she is to Shakuntala Devi’s character, Vidya laughed and replied, “I am not at all like Shakuntala Devi. I feel amazing that I played women roles from different walks of life. To be that character I have to let go of who I am. For every film, I did a lot of preparations and I enjoyed that process where I met people of that profession whose role I used to play. Actors live in the vision of the director in each film. Like for the movie Paa to become a pregnant woman I met a gynaecologist and took lessons how a pregnant woman walk, and lead a life, etc. She said that everyone is unique and that’s the beauty.

While replying to a question asked by the FLO National President Joyshree Das Verma about the significant roles so far that challenged her as an actress, Vidya said, two biopics that I have done impacted me, one is Dirty Pictures and Shakuntala Devi. These characters were living individuals and liberated me greatly. I went through body shaming. Through the Dirty Picture, I realized that we are never good enough for ourselves. I don’t know when it will change. I realized after doing this movie that body size has nothing to do with the way you feel about yourself. That’s liberating. I began to appreciate and enjoy my body in many ways. The one line of Shankuntala Devi inspired me a lot “Jub amazing ho sakti hoon toh normal kyon banoo”. Each one of us is amazing and needs to be celebrated.

Talking about the Kolkata doctor’s rape case Vidya said what happened was very unfortunate. I always wonder when women will feel safe and stop looking back to see that there is no threat looming. People who want to do the offense will do so until they realize that it is wrong. What is happening around us or what we see onscreen is the reflection of society. Repeating Javed Aktar’s lines, Vidya said that it is the society that corrupts film, films don’t corrupt society.

In the program exclusive installations and stalls showcased Karnataka weaves and handlooms curated by the National Handloom and Handicraft team of FLO. On this occasion, FICCI FLO women's wing Bengaluru Chapter collaborated with the artisans' group 'A Hundred Hands'.  When LT representative Dr. Anubha talked about the relevance of the program’s subject which was entirely based on the artisans and weavers of Karnataka with FICCI FLO National President Joyshree Das Verma, she said, “We have to promote our handicrafts, handloom industry to continue our legacy. We need to work toward upskilling, upscaling, and giving market to these artisans and weavers. Also, to inspire the younger generation so that they take it forward and love to wear it. This event is part of our handloom and handicraft textile initiative where we promote handloom in a way to encourage this industry as thousands of artisans' livelihoods depend on it."