Dubai: Awards glory shone on Bollywood star Vidya Balan on Wednesday but instead of basking in her national awards, the actress, in Dubai on the eve of International Women's Day, chose to shine a light on the needs of abused women with a visit to the Dubai Foundation For Women And Children (DFWAC).
Balan, in the UAE to premiere her film Kahaani — which means ‘story' in Hindi — spent the afternoon listening to women who are recovering from abusive relationships and human trafficking at DFWAC, a Dubai government-supported shelter.
"I salute you. You are very courageous and you have shown tremendous strength and maturity far beyond your age," said Balan in Hindi as she hugged a shy 21-year-old Pakistani girl, a victim of human trafficking.
During those moments, she wasn't Vidya Balan, award-winning star of Bollywood blockbusters such as Parineeta, Paa and The Dirty Picture; she was a woman who was trying to understand and empathise with the difficulties faced by another human being.
Human touch
"I am going to ask you a few questions, if you don't want to answer, don't worry. And your face won't be shown in the pictures — only my big belly will be seen. Do you want me to remove the belly?" said Balan with a smile, clutching the girl's hand and requesting our photographer to give them some privacy.
Whether it was the human touch or Balan's compassionate effort to make a connection, the girl (who wished to remain anonymous) cracked a smile.
"There you go. Promise me that you will always believe that all that happened to you was never your fault. They wanted you to do a bad job. You trusted somebody and you came here, it is not your fault. Everything will be fine," said Balan as she slowly got the girl to speak out about her problems.
Like many victims of human trafficking, the girl had been lured to the UAE with the promise of a decent job. Nearby was a 19-year-old girl from Columbia, who was trying to get her life back on track after escaping from her abusers. An orphan with a family to support, it was a job at a hotel that brought her to the UAE.
"I think it's fantastic what you have done," exclaimed Balan as she learnt about the girl's decision to save herself by calling the police for help. You decided to take that step to save yourself. You were not scared and because you were not scared, you are here today. God bless you and may you find all the happiness in the world," said Balan.
While the visit to DFWAC, at the suggestion of Gulf News, was not part of Balan's promotion for Kahaani, the woman-centric film finds the actress playing the role of an abandoned, pregnant woman with only her own conviction for support.
Quick bonding
"She is a strong character in the film, she is a woman like you," said Balan, as she asked her secretary to arrange tickets for the women in the shelter.
"There will be subtitles, so you can also enjoy the movie — you must see it," said Balan to both the girls, who were now freely enjoying a conversation with the star.
That didn't escape Afra Al Basti, the chief executive officer for DFWAC. "I saw today that some of the women were afraid to talk to people. But they faced her and spoke to her … her good words made them happy."
But for Balan, the interaction with the women and children in the shelter went beyond saying the right things and assimilating the grief.
"This interaction was more than a leveller. It was a reality check because you don't get to meet the victims of abuse. I am a bit overwhelmed actually. As a student of Sociology at St Xavier's College, we did partake in a lot of programmes where we were rehabilitating many victims of exploitation.
"But I must say that this is left me rather moved, because I have not come so close with something like this. It's shocking that people engage in human trafficking," said Balan.
The 34-year-old star, who earlier told Gulf News that she found her strength in the film industry "because the power lies in making my own choices", saluted the spirit shown by the two girls.
"On the eve of Women's Day, my salute goes to these two girls I interacted with and to millions all over the world who have not let their circumstances become their biggest handicap. It takes a lot of courage to step out of the situation," she said.
