Vidya Balan Says Likes Of Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Can’t Play Gay Man Like Mammootty In ‘Kaathal’
Vidya Balan recently said that the Kerala audience is more literate to accept their superstar playing a gay character.
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan, known for films like ‘Parineeta’, ‘Ishqiya’, ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘Kahaani’, ‘Paa’ and, ‘The Dirty Picture’, recently won praise for her new Hindi movie ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’. While ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’ received critical acclaim, it failed to perform well at the box office. The new Hindi movie also stars Ileana D’Cruz, Pratik Gandhi and d American-Asian heartthrob Sendhil Ramamurthy. Vidya Balan, who never shies away from speaking her mind, recently said that no Hindi film star can play a gay man like Malayalam superstar Mammootty did in ‘Kaathal: The Core’.
On the podcast Unfiltered with Samdish, Vidya Balan said that, “Unfortunately, I don’t think any of our Hindi film actors would be able to do a film like Kaathal. I only mean male actors because I do think that the female heroes is a new concept right?”
On being asked if she means superstars like Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan, she said, “Yes… yahan vo hona bahut he mushkil… namumkin lagta hai mujhe. Agar ho jaye toh bahut he achhi baat hai.”
For the unversed, Malayalam superstar Mammootty played a gay man in Jeo Baby's 2023 acclaimed movie ‘Kaathal: The Core’.
Vidya Balan also said, “We have to accept that it's a more literate audience in Kerala. That's a big difference. The texture of the lowest common denominator is very different in Kerala. I'm not taking away from Mammootty that he did. But maybe it's a bit easier there. It is a reflection of his society. I think they'd be more open to something like this. And they revere their actors like anything in the South. They worship them, especially the male superstars. So it's that much more creditable that he went ahead and did it. He didn't think it'd be a reflection on my machismo. He's a much more secure actor.”
Vidya Balan also shared that when she watched ‘Kaathal: The Core’, she messaged actor Dulquer Salmaan to convey her compliments to his father Mammootty.
“For the biggest superstar of Malayalam cinema to not only act in it, but also produce it, I don't think there's a bigger show of acceptance or support to the community, and then opening others' minds to the same,” Vidya Balan further said.
Vidya Balan also said that she's hopeful of the new generation to break that notion and mentioned Ayushmann Khurrana.
Directed by Jeo Baby, ‘Kaathal: The Core’ also starred Jyothika. Mammootty and Jyothika play a married couple, where Jyothika's character asks for a divorce on the grounds that her husband is gay.
Penned by Adarsh Sukumaran and Paulson Skaria, the film was produced by Mammootty Kampany and distributed by Dulquer Salmaan’s Wayfarer Films.
