Early life
Although born in Palakkad to Tamil Iyer parents in Kerala, Vidya Balan grew up in Mumbai and attended St. Anthony's Girls High School, St. Xavier's College, Bombay and later the University of Mumbai. She graduated from college with a Sociology degree. She speaks several languages including Tamil, Malayalam, English, Hindi, and Bengali.
Career
Vidya Balan, then Vidya Iyer, movie career started when she was signed to appear in the Malayalam film Chakram, alongside Superstar Mohanlal. But the movie was shelved. After that, she was signed in Tamil by Lingusamy for his Run, but for reasons undisclosed, she was dropped after a first schedule and replaced by Meera Jasmine.[1] In the jinx driven industry Vidya was dropped from her second Tamil movie "Manasellam" opposite to Srikanth, on the grounds of 'non-performance' and replaced by Trisha Krishnan.
She then turned to television advertising. From 1998 onwards, she appeared in numerous television ads, many of which were directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She also took supporting roles in music videos, appearing with singers and bands such as Euphoria, Shubha Mudgal, and Pankaj Udhas, and acted in Hindi soap operas like Hum Paanch (sitcom). She portrayed the role of Radhika Mathur in few episodes of season 1 of Hum Paanch which was first aired in 1995. She was replaced by Amita Nangia at the end of the first season.There has been much speculation about her age as she is very reluctant to reveal the year of birth.
In 2005, she finally made her appearance on the big screen, in two movies. She appeared in a Bengali film, Bhalo Theko, for which she won the Best Actress Anand Lok Puraskar award in Kolkata. Also in 2005, Balan made her Hindi film debut in Parineeta. The film was very successful at the box office.
After the success of Parineeta the same producer who dropped Vidya Balan from Manasellam saying that she was not emoting properly & non photogenic, was after her to sign her opposite to none other than Kamal Hassan for Dasavatharam. But Vidya Balan rejected the offer and Asin Thottumkal was signed instead.[citation needed]
In 2006 she appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in the film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. The movie was a major hit within India and was ranked #1 on the box office for eight weeks after its release.[2] Telugu Superstar Chiranjeevi who is enacting the remake of Lage Raho Munnabhai desperately wanted to sign Vidya Balan and the producer even offered her a remuneration of Rs. 1 crore, but Vidya Balan was not tempted to return South again.[citation needed]
Vidya was recently seen in a supporting role in Mani Ratnam's Guru; she played a woman with a physical disability[3] and she played a woman with amnesia in the multi-starrer Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love. Her latest release is Eklavya: The Royal Guard which got mixed reviews.
Vidya's next release will be Priyadarshan's version of malayalam hit "Manichitrathazhu" that roughly translates to "magic lock". The movie is about the mysteries of superstitions, supernatural power and split personality. Vidya essays the role immortalised by Shobana, who had bagged the Best Actress Award in 1990. Priyadarshan worked in the second unit of the original as a tribute to his master Fazil.
Personal lifeHer father, P. R. Balan, is the Vice President of ETC Channel and her mother is a housewife.
In a video interview, Vidya has stated that she is "extremely spiritual", has a "firm faith in God" and visits temples everyday .[4]
Gossip columnists linked Vidya with one of her co-stars, John Abraham. She strongly denied the allegations, saying that the rumors were "vile".[5]
Awards2006: Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Parineeta 2006: Star's Sabsey Favourite Nayi Heroine for Parineeta 2006: Stardust Superstar of Tomorrow - Female for Parineeta 2006: FairOne Filmfare Face of the Year for Parineeta 2006: Filmfare Best Debut Award for Parineeta 2006: Zee Cine Award Best Female Debut for Parineeta 2006: International Indian Film Academy Awards, Best Female Debut for Parineeta 2003: Anand Lok Puraskar Award, Best Actress for Bhalo Theko
Nominations2007: International Indian Film Academy Awards: Best Actress for Lage Raho Munnabhai
