Vidya Balan has been born and brought up in Kerala, the actress has a unique attachment with the city of Kolkata. She not only made her acting debut here with Goutam Halder’s Bhalo Theko, but her first Bollywood superhit ‘Parineeta’ was based here. The actress is also shooting for ‘Kahani’ which is again set in Bengal.
Vidya says, “I don’t know. I have stopped trying to understand why. I have just accepted that there is a relation. My mom keeps saying that there might be a relation from a past life because I do not know anyone with so much of love for Bengal. Even the man in my life will have to deal with another love affair, and that is Kolkata.”
“I know how to sing some songs and rhymes. I keep on learning,” says the actress who is often mistaken by people to be a Bengali. “The first time I went to Kolkata, I felt a sense of familiarity,” she added.......
The fact that Vishal Bhardwaj could not find a place for Vidya Balan in his ‘Dedh Ishqiya’ does not mean that the filmmaker has any doubts about the potential of the latter. We have Vishal approach Vidya for his next project ‘Daayan’ which will be made under the banner of Ekta Kapoor’s Balaji Motion Pictures. Apparently, Vidya is also doing ‘Dirty Picture’ under the same banner and will complete the shoot for it before she gives dates to Vishal for ‘Daayan’. The movie has Emraan Hashmi in the main lead. Rumors also have it that Vishal had first approached Rani Mukherjee for the film but she refused to do it because of two reasons. First, she did not want to play the role of a ‘Daayan’ (witch) and secondly, she did not want to star opposite Emraan Hashmi. However, Rani denies the fact that she had been approached for the role. As for Vidya, she just loved the role and the script.........
Since the time Vidya Balan stepped into Bollywood, she has been known for portraying difficult roles with ease and poise. After Paa, Ishqiya and No One Killed Jessica, Vidya will be next seen in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani. Kahaani is a story of a pregnant woman who is on the look-out for her husband who’s gone missing. The film has been majorly shot in Kolkata. Vidya Balan made sure that no one was allowed to smoke on the sets of Kahaani. If any such day passed that no-one was caught with a cigarette, not even the chain smokers, she celebrated the day with cake and chocolates for everyone. Even Sujoy was not permitted to smoke on the sets. On occasion, when he tried a sneak, he was caught on camera by crew members and then punished by the actress.
Last year it was Abhishek Bachchan and this year, it is the Bollywood actress Vidya Balan who has been chosen as the brand ambassador of WWF’s ‘World Earth Hour 2011’. This year the ‘World Earth Hour’ aims to show the actions that people, businesses and governments, world-wide are taking to reduce their environmental impact and will be celebrated on 26th March, Saturday at 8.30 p.m. “I am delighted to be part of Earth Hour and support the cause of climate change. WWF’s Earth Hour has created awareness on this important issue. It is inspiring to see how just by switching off lights for an hour we can support this cause,” said Vidya looking gorgeous in a multi-color suit for the event.
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan is soon becoming the preferred face for films which boast of sexual content and skin show. After reports that she has been chosen to portray the real life character of South Indian siren Silk Smitha in an upcoming Bollywood project, Vidya Balan has also been roped in by Balaji Telefilms for their upcoming film Ragini MMS, a film based on the MMS video clip that was shot at a school in New Delhi. It was just a few days ago that the media was abuzz with reports of Kangana Ranaut walking out of the movie after she developed cold feet on performing bold scenes and shedding to the bare minimum onscreen. Ekta Kapoor had confirmed reports of Kangana Ranaut leaving her project because she was uneasy about the explicit content that was part of Ragini MMS. Kangana Ranaut was the initial choice of Balaji Telefilms because Ekta Kapoor has already delivered a hit with the actress in her 2010 release Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai. With Kangana leaving the project, Ekta Kapoor was on the lookout for a new leading lady for Ragini MMS. And though representatives from Balaji Telefilms are reluctant to make any comments about Vidya Balan agreeing to play the role that was disowned by Kangana Ranaut, the media is abuzz with reports of the femme fatale of Bolly
Vidya Balan is known for the ease and poise with which she plays various complex characters but the role she is set to play in Sujoy Ghosh’s ‘Kahaani’ is such which not many Bollywood babes would dare to play. She will be seen as a six motnhs pregnant woman with a belly in the entire film. In the flick, Vidya’s husband travels from London to India for work. However, he goes missing and she comes to Kolkata in search of him. Shot in Kolkata and London the film will be out some time mid 2011 and the Kolkata schedule of the flick has already been wrapped up. Says Sujoy, “It’s the story of a woman who’s six months pregnant and her journey. I had written the script keeping Vidya in mind. I wouldn’t have made the film without her. For me she’s a perfectionist who has beautifully brought the character alive.” He adds, “She made it look so effortless. She never compromised on any aspect of filmmaking. Since cinema is a visual medium it was very important for her to look the part. There is lot of simplicity in her character and at the same time great turmoil within. Also there were boundaries because a pregnant woman isn’t Batman or Superman. She can’t do much, there’s only so much you can make her do. But the beauty lies in the vulnerability and subtle nuances that she’s used to play the character.”