Naseeruddin Shah is every woman's dream, says Vidya Balan

After playing mother to 63-year-old Amitabh Bachchan in Paa, Vidya Balan is now romancing veteran Naseeruddin Shah in her upcoming film Ishqiya and the actress is smitten by her much older co-star.

The actress who breaks away from her squeaky-clean image in the Abhishek Choubey film, says that Shah is not just an amazing actor, but also every woman's dream come true.

"He(Shah) is a total charmer. He is an astounding actor, a great co-star. As a man, he is every woman's dream come true, sensitive, a total charmer and what an amazing voice," said Balan about her 59-year-old co-star in an interview to PTI.

Balan debuted as the coy Bengali belle Lolita in Parineeta and the image stuck to her but she hopes to change it all with 'Ishqiya' where she plays a foul mouthed temptress in a love triangle between her, Shah and Arshad Warsi.

"It's the kind of role I always wanted to do but never got around to doing. Maybe because I was a bit scared about it myself. What surprised me was the fact that I was Abhishek's first choice to play Krishna and after I got over the initial apprehension I had a ball playing the bad girl," said Balan.

The film, set in a small hamlet in UP, will see the actress playing a widow, Krishna Verma, who romances funnyman Arshad Warsi and veteran Naseeruddin Shah who play bandits on the run.

   
The 32-year-old actress, who is often slated by the fashion police for her seeming infatuation with anarkali kurtas, will interestingly be sporting a very de-glamourised look in her first bold role.

"My role might be bold but I play a small-town woman and had to dress the part in basic sarees and not much make-up. In my opinion the sexiness of the character comes from the attitude and not the clothes," said Balan.

The actress who was at the receiving end of many barbed comments over her weight, debuted her new svelte self with the hit Paa but made it clear that she did not lose weight so that she could wear revealing clothes.

The actress maintains that she does not equate skin show with style and has never felt the need to fit in with Bollywood's stereotypical idea of beauty.

"I have a personal style which I will not change because what I wear in real life cannot be dictated by someone else's idea of fashion. And as far as what I wear on screen that depends on the character I play," said Balan.

For the time being Balan is hoping that her performance in Ishqiya leads to more challenging roles.

"Every day is a new day and God has been really kind to me all these years. I really hope that Ishqiya works well so that I can continue to make good decisions," said Balan.