Vidya Balan has a knack to make you feel heard. She grins, nods, ponders and responds animatedly, even in the most chaotic environments — like the backstage of an event, as she’s being ushered around by demanding managers. Almost always dressed in elaborate Indian attire, she has a certain feral alertness while interacting with the media.

She may be regurgitating her answers in an unending conveyor belt of pre-release interviews, but she makes you believe that you are the first to hear them.

With her latest film, the biopic Shakuntala Devi, marking her inadvertent foray into the streaming space due to the Covid-19 pandemic (the film was shot for the big screen), the 41-year-old is compelled to meet the press over video and audio calls, from her Mumbai home.