Born into a Tamil-speaking Brahmin family, this actress always wanted to make it big in the industry. She is one of the most prominent faces in Hindi and regional cinema. She often awestruck her fans with her effortless acting and dancing skills. Vidya Balan made it on her own after facing a lot of criticism.
She proved herself to the world with some stellar performances in films like Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyya, Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, Kahaani, and many more. Unlike other actresses, it was never easy for Vidya to get into acting as there were constant flaks over her looks and weight.
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But despite all the bashing, Vidya made it to the top and is currently one of the leading names in Bollywood. Today, let us look at the struggles Vidya underwent through her journey to stardom.
From an early age, Vidya aspired to be an actress. At the age of 16, she starred in Ekta Kapoor’s popular sitcom, Hum Paanch. While completing her Master’s degree, Vidya was cast as the lead actress opposite actor Mohanlal in the Malayalam film, Chakram. However, due to some production issues, the film was shelved.
After her first film with Mohanlal was shelved, Vidya lost several projects. Subsequently, she was signed for 12 films but lost all of them. After this, Vidya was labelled a jinx. She was replaced in many South Indian films, in which she was contracted.
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In an interview with The Indian Express, Vidya Balan talked about her initial struggle and the witch hunt that followed after she lost multiple films. Elaborating on the same, Vidya shared:
“People branded me unlucky or jinxed. It was heartbreaking. There was a lot of anger in me at that time. Because of that, a lot of other people who had signed me in between these two films began to replace me without letting me know. It was about a dozen films that I was replaced in.”
After failing to start her career in films, Vidya started working in TV commercials and music videos. It was during that time that Vidya met Pradeep Sarkar, who mentored her. Vidya made her film debut with the Bengali film, Bhalo Theko in 2003, and her performance was applauded.
The actress then starred in the film, Parineeta, which marked a significant turn in her career, and then there was no looking back for her. At India Today Conclave Inspiration, Vidya talked about being heartbroken when she was called by names. In her words:
“I was heartbroken when I was replaced in all those films. I was thrown out of a very big Tamil film at the time. I couldn’t understand what was happening and then I met Pradeep Sarkar who cast me in Euphoria’s Kabhi Aana Tu Meri Gali and that’s what changed my life. Because after that he made Parineeta with me. He started training me actually, mentoring me and then we did Parineeta. But also in between this I did a Bengali film which was my moment.”
Apart from being called a jinx, Vidya has also faced a lot of criticism because of her body weight. Once, a Tamil film producer replaced her from his film and told her that he got her kundli checked and that she was just unlucky.
But Vidya, along with her parents, went to meet the producer, and he commented, ‘Does she even look like a heroine?’ That one comment from the producer broke Vidya’s confidence. Speaking about the same in an interview, she recalled:
“That comment on my appearance was very damaging. For about six months I didn't have the guts to look at myself. There was a witch hunt, if I have to be honest. It came from a personal issue that someone was having with me.”
Despite the initial hiccups and constant body shaming, Vidya Balan went on to become a rage in Bollywood and won several accolades, including a National Film Award, a Padma Shri, and seven Filmfare Awards.
Also Read: Nimrat Kaur To Dipannita Sharma: Women Abhishek Bachchan Fell In Love With Apart From Aishwarya Rai
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