Vidya goes bad for Ishqiya

The otherwise good girl Vidya Balan has gone for an image makeover in her soon-to release movie Ishqiya.

Ishqiya is a story of romance between individuals caught in a web of crime, suspense, passion, and deceit. Here are a few stills from the movie, which is all set for a January 29, 2010 release. (Photo: NDTV)

She first captured hearts with her role as demure Lolita in debut Pareenita but Vidya Balan, who will be seen seducing Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi in Ishqiya, says she is not looking for an image change with her bold character. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

The Southern beauty, who faced brick bats for her sartorial sense in Heyy Babyy and Kismat Connection refuted that her modern avatar in these films was because she wanted to get over her traditional girl image. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

"Every film of mine retains my old persona which the audience can clearly identify with," Vidya replied after being asked about her role as a seductress in Abhishek Chaubey directed Ishqiya, releasing January 29. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

"Till date I have acted in around 10 Hindi films and in every film I have tried to do something different because I don't want to restrict myself to one particular type," she added. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

The 32-year-old actress who was last seen in Paa as a single mother to Amitabh Bachchan, plays the role of a small town girl in Ishqiya. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

"To get a chance of working with such fine actors is a dream come true for me. It improves your acting skills and I feel that in this regard I have been very fortunate," Vidya said. (Text: IANS/Photo: NDTV)

Set in a rural landscape, Ishqiya explores basic human emotions as influenced by desire, greed and revenge. (Photo: NDTV)

Vidya Balan plays Krishna Verma - the femme fatale. The mysterious woman. The forgotten widow. (Photo: NDTV)

Krishna is a bundle of contradictions. We see her as a woman madly in love. We see her as an object of desire. We see her as a vision of purity. We see her engaging herself in a lustful bout with another man. (Photo: NDTV)

What is so attractive about her is that although we connect with her at many levels, a complete understanding of her eludes us. (Photo: NDTV)

What does she want? Why is she the way she is? The answer lies at the core of the story that is Ishqiya. (Photo: NDTV)

She may be someone who lives in a dreamworld, but when asked about her dream man Vidya joked, "I don't see the face of my prince charming in my dreams, I just hear a voice. This voice belongs to someone, but I can't tell you who he is." (Text: IANSS/Photo: NDTV)

Directed by Abhishek Chaubhey the movie has been produced by Vishal Bharadwaj. (Photo: NDTV)

Vidya Balan, who was highly appreciated for her role in the movie Paa, will be seen in a completely different avatar in Ishqiya. (Photo: NDTV)

Two thieves, Khalujan (Naseeuddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi), are on the run from their boss, Mushtaq. (Photo: NDTV)

Naseeruddin Shah plays Khalujan, who is a pure romantic at heart. (Photo: NDTV)

He is a bit of an odd cookie in the world of crime. Sure, he has a sharp mind and body and has been toughened up over the years living in the world of guns and gangsters; yet, he is very emotional and tender at the core. (Photo: NDTV)

Arshad Warsi plays Babban, who is in more ways than one, the antithesis of the kind of man his uncle is. If Khalujan is all heart and soul, Babban is all flesh and blood. He is hot-blooded, lustful and scoffs at the idea of true romantic love. (Photo: NDTV)

It makes the dormant softer side of him come alive. Perhaps for the first time in his life, Babban cares...for Krishna. (Photo: NDTV)

Seasoned actor Naseerudding Shah, will be playing a full fledged romantic character for the first time ever in his career. He had done a brief romantic way back in 1982 in the movie Bazaar, which also had Smita Patil. (Photo: NDTV)