Vidya Balan in her new flick Kahani

Everyone knows that Vidya Balan plays the protaganist in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani, a pregnant woman who comes down to India in search of her missing husband. But not many know that she is the only actor from Bollywood to be cast in the film. All the other characters are played by television and stage artistes from Kolkata, barring one from New Delhi. “The film is based in Kolkata and I could not think of anyone from Mumbai who could fit into the characters that I had conceived. I only chose one actor from Delhi as he plays a character who hails from the capital,” explains Ghosh.

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the director wrote the film with Vidya in mind. “The emotions that her character goes through could only be portrayed by an actor like Vidya. She researches her part so well that I hardly have to explain any scene to her,” says the director. Kahaani releases on June 17.