Indian actress Vidya Balan made her acting debut in 1995 with the sitcom Hum Paanch, following which she made several unsuccessful attempts at a film career. Vidya then appeared in music videos for Euphoria, Pankaj Udhas, and Shubha Mudgal all directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She had her first film release with a leading role in Goutam Halder's Bengali film Bhalo Theko (2003). In 2005, she starred in Sarkar's Parineeta, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, which won her the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), a successful comedy sequel, saw her play a radio jockey opposite Sanjay Dutt.
Vidya played a variety of roles in 2007, including a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis in Mani Ratnam's drama Guru, a single mother in the comedy Heyy Babyy, and a dissociative identity disorder patient in the thriller Bhool Bhulaiyaa. All three films were commercially successful and established her as a leading lady. This was followed by two commercial failures in 2008. From 2009 to 2012, Vidya starred in five consecutive films that garnered her critical and commercial success. She played the mother of a child afflicted with progeria in Paa (2009), a seductive widow in Ishqiya (2010), and the real-life character of Sabrina Lal in No One Killed Jessica (2011). For portraying the actress Silk in the biopic The Dirty Picture, Vidya won the National Film Award for Best Actress. She next played a pregnant woman seeking revenge in the thriller Kahaani (2012), directed by Sujoy Ghosh. She was awarded the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her roles in Paa, The Dirty Picture, and Kahaani, and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for Ishqiya.
Vidya failed to replicate this success in the next few years. This changed in 2017 when she played a radio jockey in Tumhari Sulu, for which she won another Best Actress Award at Filmfare. She also starred in the top-grossing ensemble drama Mission Mangal (2019). She then starred in the Amazon Prime Video streaming films Shakuntala Devi (2020), Sherni (2021), and Jalsa (2022), winning another Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for playing an Indian Forest Service officer in Sherni. Her highest-grossing release came with the comedy horror sequel Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024).
Films + Year Title RoleLanguage Notes 2003 Bhalo Theko AnandiBengali2004Kalari VikramanKunjulakshmiMalayalamUnreleased2005 Parineeta LalitaHindi2006 Lage Raho Munna Bhai Hindi2007 Guru Meenakshi SaxenaHindi Salaam-e-Ishq Hindi Eklavya: The Royal Guard Hindi Heyy BabyyIshaHindi Bhool Bhulaiyaa / ManjulikaHindi Om Shanti Om CameoHindi Special appearance in song "Deewangi Deewangi"2008 Halla Bol Hindi Kismat Konnection Hindi2009 Paa Hindi2010 Ishqiya Hindi2011 No One Killed Jessica Hindi Reshma (Silk)Hindi Thank You Hindi Cameo Dum Maaro Dum Mrs. KamathHindiCameo Urumi BhoomiMalayalamCameo2012 Kahaani Hindi Ferrari Ki Sawaari CameoHindi Special appearance in song "Mala Jau De"2013 Ghanchakkar Hindi Bombay Talkies CameoHindi Special appearance in song "Apna Bombay Talkies" Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobaara! CameoHindi Cameo Mahabharat Draupadi (voice)Hindi Animated film2014 Shaadi Ke Side Effects Hindi Bobby Jasoos Hindi2015 Hamari Adhuri Kahani Hindi2016 Te3n Hindi Kahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh /Durga Rani SinghHindiEkk Albela Marathi Special appearance2017 Begum Jaan Begum JaanHindi Tumhari Sulu Hindi2018 Amoli NarratorEnglish Documentary2019 NTR: KathanayakuduBasavatarakamTelugu NTR: MahanayakuduBasavatarakamTelugu Nerkonda Paarvai Kalyani BharathTamil Special appearance Mission Mangal Hindi 2020 Natkhat SurekhaHindi Short film; Producer also Shakuntala Devi Hindi 2021 Sherni Vidya VincentHindi 2022 Jalsa Maya MenonHindi 2023 Neeyat Mira RaoHindi 2024 Do Aur Do Pyaar Kavya GaneshanHindi Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 Mallika / ManjulikaHindi 2026 Raja Shivaji Khadija SultanaMarathi & Hindi Bilingual KanthaTamil Filming TBAHindi Filming
Television + Year Title Role Notes 1995 Hum Paanch Radhika Mathur TV series2014 No More Kamzor Host TV special
Music videos + Year Title Role Performer(s) 2002 "Aana Meri Gully" Bengali bride Euphoria 2002 "Main Nashe Mein Hoon" Bengali girl 2003 "Kisson Ki Chadar" Unknown 2011 "Jaani Na" Bengali wife Chandrabindoo
See also List of awards and nominations received by Vidya Balan
References
External links
Vidya Balan on Bollywood Hungama