Vidya Balan filmography
Vidya Balan is an Indian actress known for her work in Hindi films. She made her acting debut in 1995 with the sitcom "Hum Paanch", following which she made several attempts at a career in Malayalam and Tamil films. However, the first film she had signed was indefinitely postponed, and she was replaced with other actresses in several subsequent projects. Vidya then appeared in music videos for Euphoria, Pankaj Udhas, and Shubha Mudgal all directed by Pradeep Sarkar. She made her debut in films with a leading role in Goutam Halder's Bengali film "Bhalo Theko" (2003 ). In 2005, she was selected to play the heroine in Sarkar's "Parineeta", an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name. Vidya won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut for the film. Rajkumar Hirani's "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" (2006), a successful comedy sequel, saw her play a radio jockey opposite Sanjay Dutt. Vidya had five releases in 2007. She played a variety of roles in them, including a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis in Mani Ratnam's semi-biographical drama "Guru", a single mother in the comedy "Heyy Babyy", and a dissociative identity disorder  patient in the psychological thriller "Bhool Bhulaiyaa". All three films were commercially successful and established her as a top heroine. The following year, she starred opposite Ajay Devgan in the drama "Halla Bol" (2008) and Shahid Kapoor in the romantic comedy "Kismat Konnection" (2008), but both failed to find a wide audience. During 2009-2012, Vidya went on to star in five consecutive films that garnered her widespread praise. Vidya played the mother of a child afflicted with progeria in Balki's drama "Paa ("2009")." She played a seductress in the black comedy "Ishqiya" (2010), and portrayed the real-life  character of Sabrina Lal in the semi-biographical thriller "No One Killed Jessica" (2011). Again in 2011 she portrayed film actress Silk in the biopic "The Dirty Picture", which earned her the National Film Award for Best Actress. Vidya next played a pregnant woman seeking revenge in "Kahaani" (2012), a thriller 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 with her next few releases, although her performance in the  thriller "" was acclaimed. This changed in 2017 when she played a radio jockey in "Tumhari Sulu", for which she won another Best Actress Award at Filmfare. Her highest-grossing film to date is the drama "Mission Mangal".