Sharing her memories is Averyl D'sa, who studied with Vidya Balan

Vidya and I studied together from kindergarten to Standard 10 at St Anthony's Girls High School in Chembur, Mumbai. We were also in the same college, St Xavier's; she was in the Arts stream while I took Science.

When I was scanning my school album some days ago, I was shocked to see the transformation. Nobody would have recognised Vidya in the picture.

She was a bindas girl full of masti and would compere all our major events in school. We knew she would rock in the entertainment industry as she had this spirit and determination.

It was her dream to appear on screen and that is why she enrolled at Prithvi's theatre school. After college, I did not get the opportunity to meet her in person due to her busy schedule but was in touch with her over the phone. I keep track of her performances and religiously send her SMSes before her film releases. I also give her feedback post release.

A very religious girl, I remember bumping into her every Wednesday when she would visit a temple near my house.

She may be a late entrant in the film industry but she made her presence felt in a short time through her hard work and simplicity. A major transformation from her Hum Paanch character to the Parineeta [Images] gal. In fact, it was a delight to see her in the various commercials before her break into movies.

I feel very proud of her whenever I see her onscreen. She has put in so much of hard work and it's finally paid off.