Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan (January 1, 1978) is an Indian occasional actress and singer, who appears mainly in Hindi films, in addition to films in Bengali and Malayalam. After graduating with a degree in sociology, she began her career starring in music videos, television shows and commercials, before making her film debut with the independent Bengali film, Bhalo Theko (2003). Balan received a positive announcement for her first Hindi film, Parineeta (2005), and followed her with a leading role in the hit film Lage Raho Munna Bhai (2006), and other successful films such as Guru, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa (all in 2007).

2009 marked the beginning of the most successful period in Balan's career, performing five roles with wide critical acclaim in Paa (2009), Ishqiya (2010), No One Killed Jessica (2011), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Kahaani (2012). These roles have continued to establish her as one of the leading contemporary actresses of Hindi cinema and earned her several important prizes.

Her acting career began when she enrolled in Chakra, a Malayalam movie together with Mohanlal, which was left aside. After that, she signed up for the Tamil film, Run, but for undisclosed reasons, she was abandoned after a first list and replaced by Meera Jasmine.