Vidya Balan

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Vidya Balan

Born January 1, 1978 (1978-01-01) (age 30)
Ottapalam, Kerala, India
Occupation Actress

Vidya Balan (Tamil: வித்யா பாலன், Hindi: विद्या बालन, born January 1, 1978) is an award-winning Indian actress who appears in Bollywood movies.

Balan, who began her career starring in many music videos, soap operas and commercials, made her acting debut in the Bengali film, Bhalo Theko (2003), for which she won critical acclaim. She later made her Hindi film debut with Parineeta (2005), for which she received a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award, and received her first commercial success with Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006). Balan has thus established herself as one of the most promising actresses of the industry.[1]

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early life, until 2002

Balan grew up in Mumbai and attended St. Anthony's Girls High School in Chembur. She later attended St. Xavier's College, where she graduated with a sociology degree, and the University of Mumbai.

Her 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 for a Tamil film, Run, but for reasons undisclosed, she was dropped after a first schedule and replaced by Meera Jasmine.[2] In the jinx driven industry, Balan was dropped from her second Tamil movie Manasellam opposite Srikanth, on the grounds of 'non-performance' and was 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. Balan also portrayed the role of Radhika Mathur in a few episodes of the first season of Hum Paanch, but was later replaced by Amita Nangia at the end of the first season.

[edit] Breakthrough, 2003 - present

In 2003, she appeared in the Bengali film, Bhalo Theko, for which she won the Anandalok Puraskar Best Actress award in Kolkata. Balan next made her Hindi film debut in the critically acclaimed Parineeta. Though the film didn't do well,[3] her performance was acclaimed by critics,[4] earning her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award.

After the success of her first two films, the same producer who dropped her from Manasellam was keen to sign her opposite Kamal Hassan for Dasavatharam but she rejected the offer and Asin Thottumkal was signed instead. In 2006, she appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in the blockbuster film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Once again her performance was well received by critics[5] and the film went on to become the second highest grossing film of that year.[6]

Mani Ratnam's critically acclaimed Guru was Balan's first release in 2007, in which she played a woman with a physical disability. The film did very well at the box office[7] and her role was appreciated.[8] Her next two releases, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love (2007) and Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007) failed to do well[7] but the latter was selected as India's official entries to the Oscars for the 80th Academy Awards.[9] Balan's last two releases of the year, Heyy Babyy (2007) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) have fared very well at the box office.[7]

[edit] Personal life

Her father, P. R. Balan, is the Vice President of ETC Channel whilst her mother is a homemaker. Balan also has an older sister named Priya. In a video interview, she stated that she was "extremely spiritual", had a "firm faith in God" and visited temples everyday.[10]

Gossip columnists have linked Balan with many of her co-stars but she strongly denied the allegations, saying that they were "vile".[11]

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Filmfare Awards

Winner

Nominated

[edit] Star Screen Awards

Winner

[edit] Zee Cine Awards

Winner

Nominated

[edit] International Indian Film Academy Awards

Winner

Nominated

[edit] Stardust Awards

Winner

[edit] Other Awards

[edit] Filmography

Year Movie Role Note
2003 Bhalo Theko Anandi Bengali film
2005 Parineeta Lalita Double-Winner, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award &
FairOne Filmfare Face of the Year.
Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
2006 Lage Raho Munna Bhai Jhanvi
2007 Guru Meenu Saxena
Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love Tehzeeb Raina
Eklavya: The Royal Guard Rajeshwari India's official entries to the Oscars
Heyy Babyy Esha
Bhool Bhulaiyaa Avni/Manjhulika Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award
Om Shanti Om Herself Special appearance in song Deewangi Deewangi
2008 Halla Bol Sneha
Kismat Konnection Priya Releasing on July 18, 2008
Mukti Hashi Filming

[edit] See also

Awards
Filmfare Awards
Preceded by
Ayesha Takia
for Taarzan: The Wonder Car & Dil Maange More		 Best Female Debut
for Parineeta
2006		 Succeeded by
Kangana Ranaut
for Gangster
Preceded by
TBD		 Face of the Year
for Parineeta
2006		 Succeeded by
Kangana Ranaut
for Gangster

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kulkarni, Ronjita (December 23, 2005). Ten best Bollywood actresses of 2005. Rediff.com. Retrieved on January 6, 2008
    Sen, Raja (August 25, 2006). Powerlist: Top Bollywood Actresses. Rediff.com. Retrieved on January 6, 2008
    Sen, Raja (December 18, 2007). The most powerful actresses of 2007. Rediff.com. Retrieved on January 6, 2008
  2. ^ The Vidya magic!. Sify.com (2005-07-07). Retrieved on 2006-11-23.
  3. ^ Box Office 2005. Parineeta does not do well at the box office. Retrieved on 9 January 2008.
  4. ^ Parineeta. Movie Review: Parineeta. Retrieved on 10 June 2005.
  5. ^ Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Movie Review: Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Retrieved on 31 August 2006.
  6. ^ Box Office 2006. Lage Raho Munna Bhai becomes second highest grossing film of 2006. Retrieved on 9 January 2008.
  7. ^ a b c Box Office 2007. Retrieved on 9 January 2008.
  8. ^ Guru. Guru: Movie Review. Retrieved on 12 January 2007.
  9. ^ Eklavya is India's official entry to the Oscars. India's choice for Oscars. Retrieved on 26 September 2007.
  10. ^ (2006). Rendezvous with Simi Garewal [Television series]. India: Star World.
  11. ^ I want to be versatile, says Vidya Balan. Monsters and Critics. Retrieved on 23 November 2006.
  12. ^ Winners Interviews. Vidya Balan on winning Best Debut & Face of the Year for Parineeta. Retrieved on 7 September 2007.
  13. ^ Filmfare Best Actress Nominees. Vidya Balan nominated for Best Actress. Retrieved on 7 September 2007.
  14. ^ Nominees - 53rd Annual Filmfare Awards. Vidya Balan again nominated for Best Actress. Retrieved on 6 February 2008.
  15. ^ SRK, Vidya Balan get Anandalok Puraskar. Vidya Balan wins for Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Retrieved on 24 December 2007.

[edit] External links

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