Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcomHum Paanch. While pursuing a master's degree in sociology from theUniversity of Mumbai, she made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film, and featured in television commercials and music videos. She made her film debut by starring in theBengali filmBhalo Theko (2003) and received praise for her first Hindi film, the dramaParineeta (2005). This was followed by several commercial successes includingLage Raho Munna Bhai (2006) andBhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), but her subsequent roles were met with negative reviews.
Vidya established herself by starring as headstrong women in five consecutive commercial successes, which also earned her critical and awards recognition. These were in the dramaPaa (2009), the black comedyIshqiya (2010), the thrillersNo One Killed Jessica (2011) andKahaani (2012), and the biopicThe Dirty Picture (2011). The last of these won her theNational Film Award for Best Actress. Following a downturn, Vidya made a career comeback by playing cheerful women balancing work and family life inTumhari Sulu (2017) andMission Mangal (2019). After starring in theAmazon Prime Video filmsShakuntala Devi (2020),Sherni (2021), andJalsa (2022), Vidya had her highest-grossing release in the comedy horror sequelBhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024).
Vidya also promotes humanitarian causes and supports the empowerment of women. She is a member of the IndianCentral Board of Film Certification and has hosted a radio show. Early in her career, she drew criticism for her fluctuating weight and dress sense, but was later credited in the media for her unconventionality. Vidya is married to the film producerSiddharth Roy Kapur.
Vidya was born on 1 January 1979 inBombay (present-day Mumbai), into aTamil Brahmin family.[1][2][3] Her father, P. R. Balan, worked as the executive vice-president of Digicable, and her mother, Saraswathy Balan, is a homemaker.[4][5][6] According to Vidya, they speak a mix ofTamil andMalayalam at her home inPalakkad,Kerala.[7] Her elder sister, Priya Balan, works in advertising.[5] The actressPriyamani is her second cousin.[8][9] Vidya grew up in the suburban neighbourhood ofChembur, Mumbai and attended St. Anthony Girls' High School.[10][11]
From a young age, Vidya aspired to a career in film and was inspired by the work of actressesShabana Azmi andMadhuri Dixit.[12][13] At the age of 16, she starred in the first season ofEkta Kapoor's sitcomHum Paanch as Radhika, a bespectacled teenager.[14][15] After the series ended, Vidya refused directorAnurag Basu's offer to star in a television soap opera, as she wanted to concentrate on a film career.[16] Her parents were supportive of the decision but encouraged her to complete her education first.[12] She attendedSt. Xavier's College to pursue a bachelor's degree insociology and later earned a master's degree from theUniversity of Mumbai.[17][18]
While pursuing her master's degree, Vidya was cast as the female lead in theMalayalam filmChakram, oppositeMohanlal and was subsequently signed on for 12 other Malayalam language films.[12] However, due to production difficulties,Chakram was shelved.[19] The postponement of a film starring Mohanlal was an unheard occurrence in Malayalam cinema and producers blamed Vidya for bringing "bad luck" to the project; labelled her as a "jinx"; and replaced her in the films that she had been contracted for.[12] She shifted focus toTamil cinema. In 2001, she was cast as the female lead inN. Linguswamy'sRun (2002), oppositeR. Madhavan. However, after completing the firstshooting schedule, she was unceremoniously dropped and replaced byMeera Jasmine.[20] She was signed up under false pretences for asex comedy, a genre she was uncomfortable with, and decided to leave the project.[12] She was also replaced by Meera Jasmine inBala (2002).[21] Thereafter, she signed on for a third Tamil film,Manasellam (2003), but was replaced byTrisha as the director was dissatisfied with her work.[22]Kalari Vikraman, another Malayalam film that she completed work for in 2003, failed to get a theatrical release.[23][24] After failing to start a film career, Vidya appeared in approximately 60 television commercials and in music videos forEuphoria andShubha Mudgal; a majority of these were directed byPradeep Sarkar.[16][25]
Vidya's film debut came with theBengali filmBhalo Theko (2003), a drama directed byGoutam Halder. He cast her in the central role of Aanandi, a young woman reminiscing about her past, for the combination of innocence and experience that he found in her.[26] Vidya was ecstatic about her involvement in Bengali cinema, later calling it a dream come true and highlighting its contribution to her subsequent progress.[26][27]She was awarded anAnandalok Purashkar for Best Actress for her performance.[28] On Pradeep Sarkar's recommendation, Vidya auditioned for the lead role in his directorial venture—theHindi filmParineeta (2005). The film's producerVidhu Vinod Chopra initially preferred an established actress in the part, but agreed to cast Vidya after she underwent six months of extensive tests.[19][29][30] Based onSarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's 1914 Bengalinovel of the same name,Parineeta tells the love story between Shekhar (played bySaif Ali Khan), the son of the localzamindar, and Lalita (Vidya), the dignified daughter of the family's tenant.[31] Vidya's performance received praise from critics;[15] Derek Elley ofVariety found her to be an "acting revelation", adding that her "devoted but dignified Lalita is the picture's heart and soul".[32] At the annualFilmfare Awards ceremony, she wonBest Female Debut and received a nomination forBest Actress.[33]
Continuing her collaboration with Chopra's company, Vidya starred oppositeSanjay Dutt inRajkumar Hirani's comedy filmLage Raho Munna Bhai (2006).[30] She played aradio jockey and thetitle character's love interest, for which she met up with radio hosts and watched them at work.[34] While she acknowledged not having a substantial role in the film, she agreed to the project as part of a conscious effort to work in different genres to avoid being typecast in herParineeta image.[34] With earnings of₹1.19 billion (US$14 million),Lage Raho Munna Bhai emerged as one of the highest-grossing Hindi films to that point.[35] Vidya began 2007 by accepting the supporting role of amultiple sclerosis patient inMani Ratnam's dramaGuru, starringAbhishek Bachchan andAishwarya Rai, citing her desire to work with Ratnam.[36] Raja Sen ofRediff.com bemoaned that she was "somewhat wasted in a role that isn't as well-etched".[37] Her next two roles, in the ensemble filmsSalaam-e-Ishq andEklavya: The Royal Guard, were similarly small, but she defended these choices as having been "part of my learning curve".[38] Both films performed poorly at the box office,[39] but the latter was selected asIndia's entry for the80th Academy Awards.[40] Citing date issues, Vidya refused Pradeep Sarkar andSudhir Mishra's offers to star in their filmsLaaga Chunari Mein Daag andKhoya Khoya Chand, respectively; she has said that both filmmakers were upset with her decision.[41]
In her next release of 2007, the comedyHeyy Babyy, she starred oppositeAkshay Kumar in her first glamorous, westernised role.[38] Her look was poorly received,[42] withNamrata Joshi ofOutlook writing, "Vidya is irritating, over-the-top, extremely affected and looks ghastly in figure-hugging frocks."[43] She next teamed with Kumar once again inBhool Bhulaiyaa, a comedy horror film fromPriyadarshan, which served as a remake of the Malayalam filmManichitrathazhu (1993). Played byShobana in the original, Vidya was challenged by the role of a woman suffering fromdissociative identity disorder; in preparation, she stayed in isolation for three days and once collapsed on set.[44][45] Moreover, she was intimidated by the dancing that her role required and began learningkathak days before filming her scenes.[45] Despite disliking the film and Vidya's dancing,Khalid Mohamed found her "bankably likeable", andTaran Adarsh described her as "splendid".[46][47] BothHeyy Babyy andBhool Bhulaiyaa were among the highest-grossing Hindi films of the year.[39][48] The latter earned her a second Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.[33]
In 2008'sHalla Bol, based on the life of activistSafdar Hashmi, Vidya played a supporting role oppositeAjay Devgn.[49] She next took on a glamorous role once again in the romantic comedyKismat Konnection, co-starringShahid Kapoor. She explained her choice of this part as a deliberate attempt to move away from her comfort zone, but she found it difficult to dance alongside Kapoor.[50] Elvis D'Silva ofRediff.com found Vidya to be "woefully miscast" and criticised her look and wardrobe, as did Shubhra Gupta ofThe Indian Express, who dismissed her as "determinedly frumpy".[51][52] Both films had poor box office returns.[53] Addressing her failure in portraying glamorous roles, Vidya has said that such parts did not suit her personality and blamed herself for "a complete lack of conviction on my part".[54]
Vidya's career prospects improved in 2009 whenR. Balki cast her in his comedy-dramaPaa.[55][56] She played a single mother struggling with her son's (played byAmitabh Bachchan)progeria. She was initially sceptical about playing the part, wondering if she could be maternal towards an actor of Bachchan's stature, who is over 30 years her senior. After insisting on a look test with Bachchan, she said that his effective transformation into a young boy had convinced her to accept the part.[57] Comparing her acting style to that ofDimple Kapadia, the criticSukanya Verma wrote, "Balan is poignant yet restrained and projects an impressive figure of grace and integrity";[58]Nikhat Kazmi ofThe Times of India commended her for lending a "rare dignity to the image of the Bollywood mom".[59]Paa was a commercial success,[60] and won Vidya the Filmfare Award andScreen Award for Best Actress.[33] Vidya has said that the film's reception gave her "courage to stick to my conviction".[61]
Vidya described her next role, inAbhishek Chaubey's black comedyIshqiya (2010), to be "an epitome of grey".[62] In a departure from her wholesome on-screen persona, she starred as a seductive, manipulative widow from a village inUttar Pradesh.[61] The part required her to master the local dialect, which also involved the use of profanity.[63][64]Anupama Chopra opined, "Vidya Balan's smoldering looks scorch the screen even as her eyes hint at tragedy. She proves that she is miles ahead of the cookie cutter Barbie dolls that clutter Bollywood and that sensuality has very little to do with showing skin."[65] Vidya's work won her theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actress, a second consecutive Best Actress award at Screen, and a nomination for Best Actress at Filmfare.[66]
The year 2011 was key in Vidya's career, as she had starring roles in two commercially successful female-led films.[67][68][69][70] InNo One Killed Jessica, a thriller based on themurder of Jessica Lal, and co-starringRani Mukerji, Vidya played the real-life character of Sabrina, who seeks justice for her sister's murder. Vidya was styled in men's dresses and loose-fitted clothing; several scenes were shot on location using hidden cameras, and she was pleased with the anonymity that her styling provided.[71] Moreover, she spoke positively of her rapport with Mukerji, noting the rarity of two leading ladies within the same Hindi film.[72]Sudhish Kamath ofThe Hindu took note of Vidya's ability to be "in sublime control over her emotions"[73] and Savera Someshwar of Rediff.com added that "her hesitant body language, her faith, her helplessness, her rage, her sorrow and her gratitude all come across beautifully".[74] Vidya earned another Filmfare nomination for Best Actress.[75] In the same year, she made a guest appearance in the Malayalam filmUrumi and a retrospective of her films was held in Australia as part of theBollywood and Beyond festival.[76][77]
The New York Times reported that with her role inThe Dirty Picture (2011), a drama based on the controversial Indian actressSilk Smitha, Vidya had "redefine[d] the Hindi film heroine".[78] She was challenged by the overwhelming sexuality in the role, and spoke of the mental preparation she put into achieving a balance between the character's mix of innocence, vulnerability, and sex appeal.[78][79][80] She gained 12 kilograms (26 lb) to look the part.[81] Khalid Mohamed observed of Vidya, "She's extraordinary: gutsy, consistently in character and unafraid of exposing her darker side. Here's the kind of complex performance which you haven't evidenced in years and years."[82] With worldwide earnings of₹1.14 billion (US$13 million),The Dirty Picture emerged as Hindi cinema's highest-grossing female-led film to that point.[35][70] Vidya won another Filmfare and Screen Award, in addition to theNational Film Award for Best Actress.[66][83]
She next starred in the thrillerKahaani (2012), directed bySujoy Ghosh. Set inKolkata during theDurga Puja festivities, the film starred Vidya as a pregnant woman in search of her missing husband. Made on a shoestring budget, it was shot for over 64 days in the streets of Kolkata by means ofguerrilla filmmaking.[84][85] Vidya drew media attention for wearing a prosthetic belly while promoting the film.[86][87] Pratim D. Gupta ofThe Telegraph wrote that Vidya "gets into the physicality of a pregnant woman with unfailing mastery".[88] Sanjukta Sharma ofMint summarised, "Balan’s existence, and indeed her flourishing, says something about the Hindi film industry finally breaking away from the 'heroine' mould."[89] As withThe Dirty Picture,Kahaani too emerged among the biggest earning female-led Hindi films, grossing over₹1.04 billion (US$12 million) worldwide.[70][90] Vidya won a fourth consecutive Best Actress Award at Screen and a third Best Actress Award at Filmfare.[91][92]
After serving as a jury member at the2013 Cannes Film Festival, Vidya starred in the comic thrillerGhanchakkar (2013).[93][94] Playing a boisterousPunjabi woman oppositeEmraan Hashmi, she explained that unlike her previous few films, her part in it was secondary to the male star.[95] Sarit Ray ofHindustan Times dismissed her "shrill, garish-dressing, magazine-devouring Punjabi housewife" character as "caricature-ish".[96] Vidya then provided the voice ofDraupadi forMahabharat, an animation film based on the Indianepic of the same name.[97] She began 2014 withShaadi Ke Side Effects, a romantic comedy about a married couple, in which she was pitted oppositeFarhan Akhtar. Critics liked their chemistry, but were unimpressed with the film.[98] She was next drawn to the title role of an aspiring detective in the comedy-mystery filmBobby Jasoos, after connecting with the character's struggle to prove herself.[99] It required her to sport 12 elaborate disguises, and she trained with a language coach to adopt aHyderabadi accent.[100] Rohit Khilnani ofIndia Today was appreciative of Vidya's performance but disliked the film's script and execution.[101] All of these films were commercially unsuccessful, which led Vidya to admit that she felt "devastated" by their reception.[102][103]
The series of poorly received films continued with the romantic dramaHamari Adhuri Kahani (2015).[104] The writerMahesh Bhatt, who based the film on his own mother, was keen to have Vidya play the lead role of a domestic abuse survivor.[105] Shubha Shetty-Saha ofMid-Day bemoaned that she had been "saddled with a boring, outdated, weepy character" and that "there was nothing much even she could do".[106] The following year, she took on the supporting part of a police officer inTe3n (2016), a thriller inspired by the 2013 South Korean filmMontage, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan andNawazuddin Siddiqui. She was drawn to playing a woman who commands respect and identified with her "silent aggression".[107]Rajeev Masand criticised the film's predictable denouement, but liked Vidya's ability to act through gestures.[108] She then portrayed the actressGeeta Bali in multiple songs forEkk Albela, aMarathi-language biopic ofBhagwan Dada.[107] Journalists speculated ifKahaani 2: Durga Rani Singh (2016), a spiritual sequel toKahaani, would help overcome her career decline.[109][110] It was not as well-received as the first film, but Vidya received a Best Actress nomination at Filmfare for her portrayal of achild sexual abuse survivor.[111] In a mixed review of the film, Raja Sen of Rediff.com wrote that "with tremendous commitment to the part, [Vidya] gives us a stirring performance free of vanity or obviousness".[112]
InSrijit Mukherji's period dramaBegum Jaan (2017), a remake of the filmmaker's own Bengali filmRajkahini (2015), Vidya played the title role of aprocurer from the 1940s.[113] She worked with Mukherji to provide a backstory to her character and researched the era by readingThe Other Side of Silence; filming in the barren landscape of ruralJharkhand was physically daunting for her.[114]Anna M. M. Vetticad ofFirstpost wrote that she "issues one-liners in a monotone, but is unable to dig deep and summon up a relatable human being".[115] Vidya next played Sulu, a spirited housewife who moonlights as atalk radio host of a relationship counseling show, in the comedy-dramaTumhari Sulu. She identified with her character's lively personality and was pleased to play a rare comic part.[116] She drew on her experience of playing a radio jockey inLage Raho Munna Bhai and listened to late-night radio shows.[116] Writing forThe Times of India, Neil Soans commended Vidya for "infusing Sulu with an abundance of infectious optimism without being aggravating", and Shubhra Gupta complimented the way she used "her distinctive voice and full-bellied laughter to invest Sulu with real warmth".[117][118] NDTV listed her performance as the best by a Hindi film actress that year, and she won her fifth Screen Award and fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actress.[119][120] It also proved to be Vidya's first commercial success since 2012; she called the film's reception a "major confidence booster".[121][122]
Vidya expanded into South Indian cinema in 2019, with roles in the two-part Telugu biopic,N.T.R: Kathanayakudu andN.T.R: Mahanayakudu, and the Tamil dramaNerkonda Paarvai. In the former two, about the actor-politicianN. T. Rama Rao, she played Rao's first wife.[123][124] Both films failed commercially.[125] InNerkonda Paarvai, a remake of the courtroom dramaPink (2016), she briefly played the wife ofAjith Kumar's character.[126] Although not keen on remakes, she agreed to the project to bring attention to its theme ofsexual consent.[127] Srinivasa Ramanujam ofThe Hindu dismissed the portions involving Vidya as inessential.[128] It emerged as one of the highest-grossing Tamil films of the year.[129] Vidya teamed with Akshay Kumar for the third time inMission Mangal, about theMars Orbiter Mission, which marked India's first interplanetary expedition.[130] She liked the idea of playing a seemingly ordinary homemaker who balances her family life with her work as a scientist, and she was also pleased to work with four other leading ladies.[131][132]Joe Leydon ofVariety found Vidya to be "drop-dead perfect from wire to wire", and she was awarded with another Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.[133][134] With global earnings of₹2.9 billion (US$33 million),Mission Mangal emerged as her biggest grosser to that point.[135]
The short filmNatkhat (2020), about a mother teaching her young son about gender equality, marked Vidya's first production venture. It premiered onYouTube as part of theWe Are One: A Global Film Festival.[136] She then portrayed themental calculatorShakuntala Devi in aneponymous biopic, which due to theCOVID-19 pandemic could not release theatrically and instead streamed onAmazon Prime Video.[137][138] The directorAnu Menon cast Vidya as she believed that Devi's "gregarious and flamboyant" personality matched that of the actress; in preparation, Vidya listened to interviews of Devi's daughter and husband, and watched online videos of Devi.[139] Mike McCahill ofThe Guardian praised Vidya's "all-shotguns-blazing performance" andThe Hindu's Kenneth Rosario took note of her "ability to smoothly transition between age and appearances, but even she can't salvage a rather mawkish finale to the film".[140][141] She received two more Filmfare nominations for her performance in it.[142]
The following year, Vidya starred as anIndian Forest Service officer tracking a man-eating tigress in the environmental thrillerSherni (2021). In preparation, she met two forest officers and went on forest trails with them, and readPeter Wohlleben's bookThe Hidden Life of Trees.[143] Sukanya Verma opined that Vidya's "refreshingly subdued portrayal" was a departure from the "self-aware feminist" roles that she had previously played.[144] She was awarded with another Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress for her performance.[145] Vidya next starred alongsideShefali Shah in the thrillerJalsa (2022), which marked her third consecutive film to release on Amazon Prime Video.[146] She played a journalist involved in a hit-and-run, a morally ambiguous character that she was initially hesitant to play.[147] Monika Rawal Kukreja ofHindustan Times believed that the performances of Vidya and Shah had enhanced a mediocre picture.[148]
Vidya led an ensemble cast in Anu Menon's murder mysteryNeeyat (2023), which marked her first film to receive a theatrical release sinceMission Mangal in 2019.[149] She has said that unlike the usual portrayal of detectives as flamboyant, including her own inBobby Jasoos, her character inNeeyat was "quirky, socially awkward and unusual".[150] In an unfavourable review,Scroll.in's Nandini Ramnath termed both the film and Vidya's performance "serviceable".[151] The film had minuscule box-office earnings.[152] The following year, Vidya andPratik Gandhi played an unhappily married couple in the romantic comedyDo Aur Do Pyaar.[153] An adaptation of the 2017 filmThe Lovers, it failed to find a wide audience theatrically despite positive reviews.[154]
After rejectingAnees Bazmee's offer to feature in the 2022 comedy horror sequelBhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Vidya agreed to star in the third instalmentBhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024) particularly due to her desire to work alongside Madhuri Dixit.[155] Reviewers forThe Hindu andMint bemoaned how both Vidya and Dixit were underutilised in the film.[156][157]Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 marked a commercial resurgence for the actress, earning₹4.17 billion (US$48 million) worldwide to rank as thesecond highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024 and Vidya's highest-grossing release.[135][158][159]
The mass media has often speculated about a romantic relationship between Vidya and her co-actors, but she has strongly denied these reports.[160][161] In 2009, Vidya was involved in a controversy when she mentioned a previous relationship in which "caustic remarks" were made at her due to her weight. She said, "If someone who matters to you takes you down, it can break you. That someone whose approval mattered to me started to constantly find faults with me. At that point of time, it was important to walk away from that relationship."[162] Though she refused to name the person,tabloid reports suggested that she was referring to Shahid Kapoor (her co-star inKismat Konnection).[163] Kapoor, however, denied the allegations.[164] During an interview in May 2012, Vidya announced that she was datingSiddharth Roy Kapur, the CEO ofUTV Motion Pictures.[165] On 14 December 2012, the couple were married in a private ceremony inBandra, Mumbai.[166]
Vidya is trained inCarnatic music and briefly studied the dance forms ofBharatnatyam andKathak.[167] Regarding her religious affiliations, Vidya said, "I am a person with a lot of faith and I have conversations [with God] all the time but I am not so religious in the conventional, organised sense".[12] She practices vegetarianism and was listed as "India's hottest vegetarian" in polls conducted byPETA in 2011 and 2012.[168][169] Her weight fluctuations over the years have been the subject of substantial media coverage in India.[170][171][172]
In March 2011, Vidya endorsedWorld Wildlife Fund'sEarth Hour campaign in India.[173] She campaigned for the cause of nutrition in India forChild In Need Institute (CINI), a non-profit organisation based in Kolkata.[174] In September 2012, Vidya visited a village inMirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, where she participated in a campaign to promote children's education and the empowerment of women.[175] For her attempts to empower women, Vidya was awarded thePrabha Khaitan Puraskar 2012 by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce; she was the youngest recipient of the award.[176] In 2012, she became the first brand ambassador of the country's sanitation programme, later renamed as theSwachh Bharat Abhiyan.[177] Since then, she has been part of a nationwide television and radio campaign aimed to increase construction and use of toilets.[178]
In 2013, Vidya served as the grand marshal of theIndia Day parade held in New York City.[179] In the same year, she launched a technology-based learning platform for underprivileged children in the Thanapur village of Uttar Pradesh.[180] Also that year, Vidya featured as the host ofNo More Kamzor, a television special on women empowerment.[181] On the occasion ofInternational Women's Day in 2015, Vidya wrote an opinion column inHindustan Times on the issues faced by women in India.[182] In August 2017, Vidya was made a member of the IndianCentral Board of Film Certification, to certify films for theatrical exhibition.[183] The following year, she became the goodwill ambassador of Arpan, an NGO that creates awareness on sexual abuse.[184] In 2019, she collaborated withBIG FM 92.7 to host a radio show named "Dhun Badal Ke Toh Dekho".[185]
Following the success ofParineeta andLage Raho Munna Bhai, Vidya's film roles were subject to wide critical analysis.[186]Vir Sanghvi noted that the filmsHeyy Babyy andKismat Konnection were "strange films [...] in which she tried to pretend to be what she is not — a Bollywood bimbette."[12] Vidya described that particular phase in her career as a "struggle to be someone else".[187] Due to the criticism that her film choices evoked, Vidya decided to choose roles that she "believed in" rather than choose by convention.[188] Members of the media have subsequently labelled her as "bold" and "daring" in her choices.[189][190]
Vidya at the GQ Men of the Year Awards, 2013
Her starring roles inHeyy Babyy andKismat 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.[191][192][193] She was later praised in the media for wearingsaris at public events; designerNiharika Khan explained, "Vidya's beauty lies in her curves. She's comfortable in her voluptuousness, and therefore in a sari."[194] Vidya has since been identified as defying "an anglicised idea of sexuality" and embody the idea of "raw Indian sexuality".[188]
After portraying strong-willed protagonists inPaa,Ishqiya,No One Killed Jessica,The Dirty Picture andKahaani, Vidya was credited in the media for pioneering a movement that breaks the stereotypical portrayal of heroines in Bollywood.[195][196] The major commercial success of the latter two earned her the title of a "female hero"[67][197] and Kalpana Nair ofFirstpost noted that with these two films Vidya spearheaded a change in the roles that were offered to actresses over 30.[198] CriticMayank 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."[199] In 2023, Rajeev Masand named her one of Hindi cinema's best actresses.[200]
India Today featured Vidya in their 2012 listing of the nation's most powerful women and noted that "she has toppled the all dominating hero, reducing him to a supporting role in a male dominated film industry".[201] Vidya was featured byForbes India in their annualCelebrity 100 list in 2012 and 2013.[202] She occupied the top slot in Rediff.com's annual listing of the year's best performances for two consecutive years (2010–11).[189][203] She also featured in the list for the years 2005, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2016.[204] In 2012, the magazineVerve featured her as one of India's "Young Power Women" and wrote, "In a reel world peopled bysize 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."[205] Two years later, the magazine listed her as a power icon.[206] In 2018,The Economic Times considered Vidya to be one of the most prominent celebrity brand ambassadors in India.[207] She was also inducted into theBollywood Walk of Fame atBandra Bandstand, where her hand print was preserved.[208]
In 2014, Vidya was awarded thePadma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for her contributions to the entertainment industry.[209] The following year, she received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree fromRai University; the university also named a scholarship program for underprivileged girls after her.[210] The chancellor of the university, Harbeen Arora said, "Among the league of iconic actors, Vidya is a pioneer in every way. Her films epitomise a distinct Indianness and a powerful womanhood".[211]
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