Being Vidya Balan: A Tribute To A Priceless Gem Among The Stones!

In a country that craves for starlets and divas,

Often forgetting -who knows conveniently- that it’s concreteness and simplicity that actually matter

Not the very fact that all that glitters  is gold,

She is the embodiment of something that can never grow old,

In the path to success, in the craving for fame,

It’s not shenanigans that can take one afar 

But strength of character,

It’s not loudness or even that term (we still proudly use) called Shosha that can endear us to the world

But poise and grace that are the pearls

And when it comes to gems, 

She’s of a very rare kind,

Not one that is driven to win some mad race,

Never the one that shall ever be left behind,

For Vidya Balan is one of a kind

The simplest definition of beauty that can cause distress to the shallow damsel 

As also to the constantly chirping chiquita 

An ebullient spark that can withstand any unforeseen agony that today brings and also the storms of tomorrow

Not that the above alone is her Kahaani, for with this chosen one, there’s always an Act Two,

In reference of her gigantic talent that knows a thing or two,

About being the portrait any artist would love to hang on the wall,

For she can sing to the birds and can deafen even the most silent by merely a wink of her eyes,

For where you see there lies depth, there lies not,

Vidya’s magic also stems from her eyes,

They are her vision, and those who try to seek in them, something they love to find,

Run around in circles, visit theatres endlessly, browse a repository of images,

But in the end only lag behind, for none know Vidya Balan’s mystery,

How she conveys what many simply cannot

How she aligns beauty with magnetic charm without losing herself or playing loudly to the crowd,

How she retains her enigma,

That appeals to every Paa, babe, bhai, brother, buddy, and Amma

It’s been a decade and a half since the mighty Balan first hit the big screen,

Akin to the breeze that kisses your forehead on the beach, one that’s serene

And in these fifteen years, where Vidya Balan went from being somebody trying to forge a career into steering a commanding one,

Each time a Friday box office matinee greets the eager viewer,

In that India where the ‘Beti’ is still being declined in the shallow cry for the Boy,

The Cinemagoer clings to the faith that all’s not lost,

Till the time a Vidya Balan film embraces the crowd- often hopeful, often rendered redundant by movies that seem that all’s lost

And come to think of it- the true meaning of Dirty Picture isn’t the oomph-loving, women-ogling matinee-time the viewer craves for,

Rather the simplicity of purpose that Vidya Balan succeeds in lending every part she plays for..

… for us- the film-obsessive, often greedy, always passionate, but gaudy, mad bunch of cinemholics,

Vidya Balan, truth be told, is the meaning of what it means to have it all and not wanting to have more,

She’s the queen minus the bling, the enchantress but with the gift that’s really pure

May each scene with her in it shine on even further akin to a walker on an endless path to travel

Hollywood may have the enchanting Ms Streep, Israel Sarit Hadad, and Canada Kathryn Winnick,

But on Vidya Balan- an entire cinematic landscape, not just the one in India- endlessly marvels!