Vidya Balan says she was overjoyed at being able to play so many roles in her upcoming movie Bobby Jasoos.

The film celebrates the aspiration of ‘Bobby’ who wants to become the number one detective in the old city area of Hyderabad.

She said, “I’d say it was challenging but also very satisfying. Challenging because I’ve never played this effervescent character before, yet because she’s doing important work as a Jasoos (detective) and you see her doing work most of the time, it couldn’t be frivolous, so I had to maintain that right balance. Actually, I didn’t have to do much.

“Samashek, the director, got me to do what I’ve done in the film. Most importantly, the script had it all. It’s not just a detective story, it’s really also a human story about a girl from a modest background, in a small mohalan from Hyderabad, and about her aspirations of doing something unusual.”

She was all for taking on different looks for the film too, “I knew when I was signing up for Bobby Jasoos that I would be expected to do a lot of disguises and that was very exciting for me.

“But I had no idea that I’d get to do male disguises, that I’ll actually be in the garble of men. I have played five different men in the film, and I must say, more than ever now, I enjoy being a woman. I’m kidding, I enjoyed the process of creating a person through make up, whether it’s moustaches, beards, stubble, teeth, glasses, etc. The costume and make-up teams have collaborated to make me look completely different, to the point that I couldn’t even identify myself. At those times I’d be taking selfies and saying “Oh my God! This is a keeper!”

“The first day of the shoot in Hyderabad, I was playing a beggar. I was outside Napoli station, sitting with real beggars.

“Firstly, the other beggars didn’t recognise me, so they began to fight because it was their territory and they have those demarcations.

“I got a hold of a lady’s hand, and she must have been in such a hurry to go into the station, that she just pushed my hand and said that “You look completely able bodied, why aren’t you working? Aren’t you ashamed to be begging!”