by Subhash K Jha

The on-the-move Vidya Balan remains completely taken up with Vinod Chopra's cinema and totally loyal to his banner arguing "Why is belonging to a camp considered such a negative thing in this industry?" she argues rationally.

She has just completed Chopra's Eklavya and will soon complete another film The Mahatma Versus Munnabhai(directed by Raj Kumar Hirani) where she plays a radio jockey, for the same banner.

"I'm proud to be associated with one of the best banners in the country. And it isn't any kind of restlessness that has made me sign Sourabh Narang's film. There were many many offers. But it was this one which made me sit up. I hadn't even seen Saurabh's first film Vastu Shastra. When I heard the script I was completely moved. Any actress would be foolish to turn down such a film."

The project to be produced by Anurradha Prasad (wife of Congress Parliamentarian Rajiv Shukla and producer of several successful tv serials) of BAG films, is actually inspired by the research that Sourabh undertook while directing Haqeeqat, a reality show on Sahara.

Says the erstwhile Ram Gopal Varma protégé, "Vidya had tears in her eyes when she heard the script. She's a phenomenal actress. And I couldn't think of anyone else for the role. After Vastu Shastra I had to move ahead, move back to my roots and make something rooted to reality."

The character provides Vidya with a chance to move far beyond Parineeta, into an area where she skirts hardhitting headlines. "It's arole where I have to pull out all stops and deliver a PERFORMANCE...or else!" she chuckles.

The film will be launched and completed early next year.

Both Vidya Balan and Sourabh Narang have moved out of the family fold. While Narang, another one of the innumerable Ram Gopal Varma protégés, is grappling to rehabilitate his creativity in a different channel (just like Shimit Amin, Sriram Raghavan and Rohit Jugraj) away from 'The Factory' Vidya needs to stay afloat independent of the Chopra brand.

With this in mind she has also said yes to Nikhil Advani's next where she'll co-star with John Abraham.