Vidya Balan also showed off her appearance as a “not-so-classic” detective in Anu Menon’s murder mystery right after she released the teaser for her new movie ‘Niyat’. (Also read: Vidya Balan is happy with her own salary: ‘I don’t work with big heroes, so I don’t know about her pay parity’)
Vidya Balan look
The actor is seen with long bangs and wearing a green shirt, chestnut sweater, and brown overcoat. She stands next to a mirror in which the suspects (presumably a family of four) are reflected, and she looks at them with suspicion.
Agatha Christie mood
There are some elements that give Niyat the good old charm of an Agatha Christie murder mystery. First, the clothes worn by Vidya and the suspect are heavily layered with Agatha Christie’s trademark fir. Also, the interior, especially the wooden shelves with books in the background of Vidya, give the film even more of a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery feel.
It’s not the first time for her to play a detective role.
Neiyat is not the first time Vidya has appeared as a detective. She played a detective Desi in the Hyderabad-set Bobby Jassus (2014), which was a box office failure. But with Sujoy Ghosh’s 2012 cult flick Kahani, Liv Dasgupta’s Te3n (2014), and most recently Amit V. Masrkar’s 2021 forest thriller Sherni, Vidya has made a name for itself. I’ve often seen him on screen doing investigations with different avatars.
Vidya’s First Theatrical Release After Pandemic
‘Niyat’ marks Vidya Balan’s long-awaited return to cinema after four years. Her last theatrical release was the sci-fi ensemble Mission Mangal, directed by Jagan Shakti, in 2019. But her last solo theatrical appearance was in Suresh Triveni’s 2017 blockbuster Tumhali Sulu.
Since 2019, Vidya has premiered directly at Prime Video India such as Anu Menon’s Shakuntala Devi (2020), Sherni and most recently Suresh Triveni’s Jalsa last year. I have only appeared in films that have been released. She will soon be starring in the romantic comedy Lovers, which also stars Pratik Gandhi, Ileana D’Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy.
About Niyat
This murder mystery will be directed by Anu Menon, who worked with Vidya on the mathematics icon’s biopic Shakuntala Devi. Niyat also stars Ram Kapoor, Rahul Bose, Neeraj Kabi, Shahana Goswami, Amrita Puri, Dipanita Sharma, Niki Walia, Shashank Arora, Prajakta Kori and Danesh Razvi. Co-authored by Anu, Priya Venkataraman, Advaita Kala and Jirvani Diani, with dialogue by Kausar Mounir. It will be produced by Abduntia Entertainment led by Vikram Malhotra.
