Biography: Born in a Tamil-speaking Balan family on January 1, 1978 in Palghat, Kerala, India, Balan and her family re-located at Road No. 11, near Ambedkar Garden, Chembur. She studied in Bombay and also performed in Prithvi Theaters’ workshops.
She began her screen career with commercials in 1998. She also appeared in three music videos for Pankaj Udhas, Euphoria, and Shubha Mudgal. She then appeared in Ekta Kapoor’s TV serial “Hum Paanch” and Ashok Pandit’s “Hanste Khelte” In 2003 Vidya appeared in a Bengali film “Bhaalo Theko.” In 2005 she made her Hindi film debut with Parineeta. Her performances have led to favourable receptions from critics and in the short span that she has had in Bollywood, Vidya is already an actress to reckon with. Her last two films Hey Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiya were hits.
During 2003 she was signed-up to play a role in a Bengali movie ‘Bhaalo Theko’ opposite Joy Sengupta. This project was completed during the year 2006, and was a considerable hit.
Then during 2006 Vidya was approached by Vidhu Vinod Chopra during a pop-concert in Mumbai to play a lead role in ‘Parineeta’. She then had to undergo 17 make-up shoots and 40 screen tests before being chosen for this role. All this hard work did result in success as ‘Parineeta’ was very well received so much so that the Tamil producer, who had previously rejected her, invited her to appear in a ‘Dasavatharam’ opposite Kamal Hassan, and now it was Vidya’s turn to reject this offer which eventually went to Asin.
Apart from acting, Vidya occupies herself for supporting education for young Indians by promoting children’s books; is associated with Americans for Aids Research; with Hale House – that provides support and housing for children born with HIV and drug abuse; as well as hosting forums and attending events for Harvard Aids Institute.
An ardent devotee of Bhagwan Shri Sai Baba, she makes it a point to attend Mandirs every Thursday. She is proficient in Tamil, Malyalam, Hindi, English, Bengali, and can also read Urdu.
Trivia
A Tamilian from Kerala, she hails from the Iyer community in Palghat, on the border of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Did her schooling from St. Antony’s School and later on at St. Xavier’s College where she graduated in Sociology. She soon started work on her MA from Mumbai University when she was offered a role in a Malayalam film starring Mohanlal, but it was later shelved due to issues with the director.
Speaks English, Hindi, Malayalam, and Tamil. After filming Parineeta (2005), can also speak Bengali quite well.
Listed as number 8 of ‘Top Bollywood Actresses’ of 2006. (rediff.com, 8-25-2006)
