Vidya Balan, who turns 35 today, has had a great 2012. She had a hit film in Kahaani and married fiancé Siddharth Roy Kapur in December.
As she begins 2013, here's a look at Vidya's journey so far.
Vidya Balan, who turns 35 today, has had a great 2012. She had a hit film in Kahaani and married fiancé Siddharth Roy Kapur in December.
As she begins 2013, here's a look at Vidya's journey so far.
Vidya was born in Palakkad, Kerala, where her father was Vice President of ETC Channel, but grew up in Mumbai. She went to St Anthony's school and then studied Anthropology at St Xavier's College. She had enrolled for an MA at the University of Mumbai when the silver screen came calling.
Vidya's career stalled almost as soon as it started. Her debut film was the Malayalam language Chakram, opposite no less an actor than Mohanlal, but ended up on the shelf. She was next signed for Tamil film Run but replaced by Meera Jasmine. She was also dropped from Manasellam for “non-performance” and was replaced by Trisha Krishnan.
In 1998, Vidya abandoned her faltering movie career for television, making a series of ad films mostly directed by Pradeep Sarkar.
She also appeared in music videos for bands like Euphoria and singers Shubha Mudgal and Pankaj Udhas.
Vidya's luck turned when she replaced Amita Nangia as Radhika Mathur, the awkward, geeky sister on season one of popular TV serial Hum Paanch.
The Bengali film Bhalo Theko heralded her arrival on the big screen in 2003. Her performance won her the Anandalok Puraskar Best Actress award in Kolkata.
There was no looking back for Vidya after her Bollywood debut opposite Saif Ali Khan in Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta. Her glowing performance as the dignified and wronged Lalita who has to struggle with economic and social divisions in her love affair with her neighbour, Shekhar, was the first of a series of powerhouse performances.
A Filmfare Best Female Debut Award was on the way and the nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award was just the cherry on the top.
After the success of Vidya's first two films, the same producer who had dropped her from Manasellam was keen to sign her opposite Kamal Haasan for Dasavathaaram but she rejected the offer and Asin Thottumkal was signed instead.
In 2006, Vidya starred with Sanjay Dutt in blockbuster Lage Raho Munna Bhai, a critical and commercial success.
Mani Ratnam's critically acclaimed Guru was Vidya's first release in 2007, in which she played a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis. A soul-stirring lip-lock in the pouring rain with co-star Madhavan got much of the attention.
Her next release Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love (2007) was a multi-starrer, and failed miserably at the box office.
Later that year, Eklavya: The Royal Guard also failed to do well but was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 80th Academy Awards.
Her last two releases of the year, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa were box office hits.
She welcomed the year 2008 with a flop Halla Bol opposite Ajay Devgn. Her next movie Kismat Konnection, opposite Shahid Kapoor, was a dropped line at the box office although their Konnection fuelled rumours of an off-screen affair.
Vidya's moment of glory came with 2009's Paa. Amitabh Bachchan's performance as the child suffering from progeria was matched by Vidya's, who played his mother.
She became a critics' darling as the femme fatale, Krishna, in Ishqiya. Steamy bedroom scenes with co-star Arshad Warsi helped change her wholesome on-screen image to one slightly more risqué.
Vidya and Rani Mukherji, arguably Bollywood's most talented actresses, appeared together in No One Killed Jessica (2011). Based on the Jessica Lal murder case, Vidya played Jessica's sister Sabrina.
Vidya Balan's biggest moment came in 2011. She changed the face of Bollywood with her bold performance in Milan Luthria's The Dirty Picture. The role won Vidya the National Award, among a slew of the honours. She was spoken off as ‘the fourth Khan' but said in an interview: "Well, the Khans can now add Balan at the end of their names, instead of me adding Khan to my name."
Suddenly sexy, the former girl-next-door became the cover girl of choice for FHM, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire and other magazines.
Vidya followed up The Dirty Picture with another triumph in Kahaani in which she played a pregnant woman searching for her missing husband in the bylanes of Kolkata.
Vidya Balan is currently shooting for Ghanchakkar opposite Emraan Hashmi. She will play the role of a Punjabi housewife in the film which is scheduled to release in June this year.
She has also been roped in for the sequel of Kahaani.
On December 14, 2012, Vidya married fiancé and UTV head Siddharth Roy Kapur in a traditional and very private ceremony in Mumbai. The couple, among Bollywood's most low-key, announced their engagement in May but kept wedding plans very quiet.
