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Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age, and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcom Hum Paanch. She pursued a master's degree in sociology from the University of Mumbai and simultaneously made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film. She subsequently featured in various television commercials and music videos, and in 2003 made her feature film debut as the protagonist of the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko. In 2005 Vidya garnered praise for her first Hindi film, the drama Parineeta, and followed it with a leading role in the highly successful 2006 comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai.
This initial success was followed by roles in the romantic comedies Heyy Babyy (2007) and Kismat Konnection (2008) which met with negative reviews. The year 2009 marked the beginning of the most successful period in Vidya's career as she portrayed five consecutive roles to wide critical acclaim in the 2009 drama Paa, the 2010 black comedy Ishqiya, the 2011 semi-biographical thriller No One Killed Jessica, the 2011 biopic The Dirty Picture, and the 2012 thriller Kahaani. These roles established her as a leading actress of Hindi cinema and earned her the tag of a "female hero".
In addition to acting in films, Vidya promotes humanitarian causes and supports the empowerment of women. She initially drew criticism for her fluctuating weight and "questionable" dress sense, but was later credited in the media for "not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot" She is married to the film producer Siddharth Roy Kapur.
While pursuing her master's degree, Vidya was cast as the female lead in the Malayalam film Chakram, opposite Mohanlal and was subsequently signed on for twelve other Malayalam language films.However, due to production difficulties, Chakram was shelved.The postponement of a film starring Mohanlal was an unheard of occurrence in Malayalam cinema and film producers blamed her for bringing "bad luck" to the project; labelled her as a "jinx" and replaced her in all the films that she had been contracted for.] She then shifted focus to Tamil cinema. In 2001, she was cast as the female lead in N. Linguswamy's Run (2002). However, after completing the first shooting schedule of the film, she was unceremoniously dropped and replaced by Meera Jasmine. She was signed up under false pretences for a sex comedy, a genre she was then uncomfortable with, and thus decided to leave the project.Thereafter, she signed on for a third Tamil film, Manasellam (2003), but was replaced by Trisha Krishnan as the director was dissatisfied with her work. Kalari Vikraman, another Malayalam film that she completed work for in 2003, failed to get a theatrical release.
After failing to start a film career, Vidya appeared in approximately sixty television commercials and in music videos for Euphoria and Shubha Mudgal; a majority of these were directed by Pradeep Sarkar. In 2003, she was signed on by Goutam Halder for his independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko; her first film release. Her portrayal of Anandi, a young woman reminiscing about her past, won her an Anandalok Purashkar for Best Actress.
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After completing the duties of a jury member at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, Vidya starred opposite Emraan Hashmi as a loud and boisterous Punjabi woman in Ghanchakkar, a comic-thriller from director Raj Kumar Gupta. Critics were unenthusiastic about the film and it earned little at the box office. Vidya then provided the voice of Draupadi for Mahabharat, a 3D animation film based on the Indian epic of the same name.The romantic comedy Shaadi Ke Side Effects was Vidya's first film release of 2014. Directed by Saket Chaudhary and co-starring Farhan Akhtar, the film tells the story of a married couple who face a series of comic events after the birth of their first child. Vidya's role was Trisha Mallik, a "regular working woman in an urban, two income household", a "relatable" character for which she did not undergo much preparation.Critics found the film to be a "bit overstretched", but praised both Akhtar and Vidya's performances.Rachit Gupta of Filmfare thought that Vidya's character offered her a "limited character stretch", but added that she "excels and floors both comedy and drama with ease."
Also in 2014, Vidya featured as the host of No More Kamzor, a special television program on women empowerment. Her second film release that year was the comedy-drama Bobby Jasoos in which she played the eponymous role of a Hyderabadi woman who aspires to be a detective. Vidya was drawn to the idea of playing a female detective, and identified with the character's struggle to "do something unusual" in life The role required her to sport twelve elaborate disguises, and she also trained with a language coach to adopt a Hyderabadi accent.[88] Shubha Shetty-Saha of Mid Day reviewed that she "bites into this role with passion and lives it like her own", adding, "you wonder if any actress could have been able to manage this outwardly simple but complex role with such competence"
As of October 2014, Vidya is filming opposite Emraan Hashmi and Rajkummar Rao for Hamari Adhuri Kahani, a romance from director Mohit Suri.
Following the success of Parineeta and Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Vidya's film roles were subject to wide critical analysis. Vir Sanghvi noted that the films Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection were "strange films [...] in which she tried to pretend to be what she is not — a Bollywood bimbette." Vidya described that particular phase in her career as a "struggle to be someone else". Due to the criticism that her film choices evoked, Vidya decided to choose roles that she "believed in" rather than choose by convention.Members of the media have subsequently labelled her as "bold" and "daring" in her choices.
Her starring roles in Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection also led to considerable attention in the media for her "questionable wardrobe". Several publications listed her as the "worst dressed actress" and her costume designers attributed her failure to carry off western clothes due to her weight and body structure. She was later praised in the media for wearing saris at public events; designer Niharika Khan explained, "Vidya's beauty lies in her curves. She's comfortable in her voluptuousness, and therefore in a sari.Vidya has since been identified as defying "an anglicised idea of sexuality" and embody the idea of "raw Indian sexuality".
After portraying strong female protagonists in Paa, Ishqiya, No One Killed Jessica, The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya was credited in the media for pioneering a movement that breaks the stereotypical portrayal of heroines in Bollywood.The major commercial success of the latter two earned her the title of a "female hero" and Kalpana Nair of First Post noted that with these two films Vidya spearheaded a change in the roles that were offered to actresses over thirty.Film critic Mayank Shekhar predicted, "Just a few smart male actors can completely change the face of a commercial, star-driven film industry. Looking at [...] Vidya Balan [...] it appears, that change could well originate from the leading lady instead." India Today featured her in their listing of the "25 Power Women" and noted that "she has toppled the all dominating hero, reducing him to a supporting role in a male dominated film industry".
Vidya occupied the top slot in Rediff.com's annual listing of "Bollywood's Best Actress" for two consecutive years (2010–11)She also featured in the list for the years 2005, 2006, 2009, and 2012. In 2010, she featured in Filmfare 's listing of the "Women we love". In 2012, the magazine Verve listed her as one of India's "Young Power Women" and wrote, "In a reel world peopled by size zero-toned bodies and pretty-as-a-picture heroines, Vidya comes across as completely real and natural – a woman who has followed her own instincts and dared to live her destiny by being her own person and not morphing herself to fit into any conventional slot." In 2014, Vidya was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.
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In 2005 Vidya made her Hindi film debut with Pradeep Sarkar's musical drama Parineeta. Before being cast for the film, she had to undergo extensive auditions for a period of six months.The film, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name, narrated the love story of an idealist Lalita (Vidya) and an egoist Shekhar (Saif Ali Khan), the son of a capitalist businessman.Her performance in the film was praised by critics; Derek Elley from Variety wrote, " An acting revelation is Tamil newcomer Balan, whose devoted but dignified Lalita is the picture's heart and soul." Parineeta fetched her a Best Female Debut award and a nomination for Best Actress at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony The following year, Vidya appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in Rajkumar Hirani's comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. She portrayed the role of Jhanvi, a radio jockey and the love interest of the protagonist Munna Bhai. To prepare for her role, she met with a couple of radio jockeys and watched them at work. Her performance was critically well received, and the film emerged as a blockbuster with earnings of INR1.19 billion (US$19 million).
In 2007 Vidya featured in a supporting role in Mani Ratnam's semi-biographical drama Guru as a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis. The film, which starred Mithun Chakraborty, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and R. Madhavan in leading roles, performed well at the box office.However, film critics Khalid Mohamed and Raja Sen noted that her "talent was wasted" in a "minuscule role". Her next release was Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love, a romantic comedy featuring an ensemble cast, in which she was paired opposite John Abraham. The film, which narrated six individual love stories, saw Vidya play the role of a television reporter, Tehzeeb Hussain, suffering from a memory loss condition. The film, which was a critical and commercial failure, generated positive reviews for Vidya. Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com wrote, "Vidya's transformation from a self-assured working woman to a helpless, vulnerable person is superb."
Vidya Balan is looking directly at the camera.
Vidya at a promotional event for Bhool Bhulaiyaa in 2007
Vidya then took a supporting role in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's suspense thriller Eklavya: The Royal Guard, alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Boman Irani, Sharmila Tagore, Saif Ali Khan, and Sanjay Dutt. The film, which flopped commercially, met with positive critical reviews and was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 80th Academy Awards.She was later cast as Isha Sahni, a single mother, in Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy, alongside co-stars Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Fardeen Khan. The comedy film was a box-office success,but garnered negative reviews from critics, as did Vidya's performance; CNN-IBN's Rajeev Masand criticised her wardrobe and make-up, and considered her the "sore thumb" of the film.
Vidya's fifth and final film of 2007 was Priyadarshan's psychological thriller Bhool Bhulaiyaa, a remake of the Malayalam film Manichitrathazhu (1993). Vidya featured as Avani Chaturvedi (a character played by Shobana in the Malayalam original), a woman suffering from dissociative identity disorder. Co-starring Shiney Ahuja, Akshay Kumar, and Ameesha Patel, Bhool Bhulaiyaa was a commercial success with a worldwide revenue of over INR830 million (US$13 million).[33] Reviewers, while being generally negative of the film, were appreciative of Vidya's performance. Writing for Hindustan Times, Khalid Mohamed described her as "bankably likeable" and Bollywood Hungama's Taran Adarsh labelled her as "splendid".The role earned Vidya a second Filmfare nomination in the Best Actress category.
In 2008's social film Halla Bol, Vidya played a supporting role alongside Ajay Devgn and Pankaj Kapur. The film was based on the life of activist Safdar Hashmi, who was killed by political rivals while performing on a street play (by the name of Halla Bol) in 1989.The film was a critical failure. Later that year, she co-starred with Shahid Kapoor in Aziz Mirza's romantic comedy Kismat Konnection. A commercial failure, the film and her performance generated a negative response; critic Sonia Chopra commented, "[Balan] is made to look downright drab. The haircut is unflattering, the make-up too plain, the clothes usually in off-white or brown. Plus the character is repetitive and reminds us of the one she played in Lage Raho Munnabhai."
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