Kolkata : National award winning Bollywood actress Vidya Balan has found a new admirer in West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan with both hailing from the same native place in Palakkad district of Kerala.
“I come from the same small town (Ottapalam) of Kerala where she was born. Like her I have spent most of my childhood there. Now I go back there from time to time,” Narayanan said at a function here last evening.
He said he is “doubly privileged” to present the Prabha Khaitan Award to Vidya as his native Ottapalam town has got a new star.
“So far there were only diplomats, doctors, chartered accountants and Governors, but now we have produced a new star. I feel proud that Ottapalam is reaching dizzying heights,” the Governor said.
Among the large number of diplomats who hail from Ottapalam are the present National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon and former Foreign Secretary K P S Menon.
Vidya, who has always proudly proclaimed West Bengal as her second home, said, “We both hail from the state of Kerala and we both belong to the state of West Bengal”.
Showering praise on the 34-year-old actress, who was conferred with the National Award as best actress for her role in “The Dirty Picture”, Narayanan said through her acting prowess she has created a new idiom to send powerful messages through the medium of Cinema.
“She is graceful but her simplicity has not changed over the years,” he said.
The Governor, a former intelligence service man, joked that he had a bone to pick with Vidya as her last superhit film ‘Kahaani' had the director of Intelligence Bureau being portrayed as a ‘terrorist'.
“I normally don't see movies, but I saw ‘Kahaani' twice because of my 38 years of working with the government.
I was the director of Intelligence Bureau for six years. And she shows me as a terrorist in the film,” he said with a laugh. Vidya said she was lucky that she was getting the opportunity to do strong roles in such films. “The role of women is changing in the society and cinema is a reflection of that,” she said adding she wanted to act in a Bengali film.
“I have seen most of Ritu da's (Rituparno Ghosh) films. I have also seen Aniruddha's ‘Antaheen' and Goutam Ghosh's ‘Moner Manush'. I am taking DVDs back home of some more Bengali films,” the actress said.
“Everything I have done has had some connection with West Bengal,” she said adding that whenever she comes to the city she visits the famed Kalighat temple.
Faced with criticism for his comment that there was true ‘poribortan' (change) in West Bengal during the felicitation of the Kolkata Knight Riders, Narayanan today said he did not make any reference to political change in the state.
“It (KKR team's victory) happened after they attempted IPL 4-5 times. That means change and that is ‘poriborton'. I am not talking of the government,” Narayanan told a local TV channel.
“It (KKR victory) is certainly a matter of change,” he said, adding his comments had “nothing to do with any particular government.”
During the felicitation function at Eden Gardens, the governor had lauded Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying ‘true poribortan' (change) has now been ushered into West Bengal.
CPI-M leader Shyamal Chakraborty criticised Narayanan alleging his comments were political.
“Everyone heard the governor's comments. We cannot accept any excuse. It was a purely political comment,” the state CITU leader said.
