How Vidya Balan transformed herself to fierce 'Begum Jaan'

Acclaimed filmmaker Srijit Mukherji revealed on Tuesday how Vidya Balan, who has been known for her jovial and down-to-earth personality, completely transformed herself to no-nonsense brothel madam "Begum Jaan". "Before we started shooting 'Begum Jaan' we organised two workshops simultaneously. One with Vidya, another with girls... because Vidya is a jovial down-to-earth person and she easily mingles with everybody on set and I didn't want that. I wanted certain kind of distance with the girls from Vidya," he said at the trailer launch of the film. "Vidya used to ask many questions during the workshop like what the memories of 'Begum Jaan' were when she was three, when she was first exploited or what happened when she got married. So at the end of the workshop, I had already completed writing four scripts... one 'Begum Jaan' and others are the prequels and sequels. I had to keep ready all the backstories of 'Begum Jaan' and the girls," added the 'Zulfiqar' helmer.