Vidya Balan dubbed 'jinxed' after film with Mohanlal shelved: 'There was witch hunt'

Actor Vidya Balan recently revisited the times when a dozen of her films were shelved, and she was labelled 'unlucky' by film producers.

In Short

• Vidya Balan was tagged as 'unlucky' early in her career
• She was replaced from a dozen films and faced body-shaming
• A producer refused to meet Vidya after getting her horoscope checked

Actor Vidya Balan recently spoke about being tagged 'unlucky and jinxed' after her first two Malayalam films, one of which was supposed to star superstar Mohanlal, got shelved. Vidya also talked about being subjected to a 'witch-hunt' because of someone's personal issues with her.

"People branded me unlucky or jinxed. It was heartbreaking. There was a lot of anger in me at that time. Because of that, a lot of other people who had signed me in between these two films began to replace me without letting me know. It was about a dozen films that I was replaced in," Vidya told The Indian Express as she remembered the early years of her career in the Indian film industry.

She also recalled that a Tamil film producer refused even to meet her. A few days later, after getting replaced from the movie, she was told that the producer had gotten her 'kundli' (horoscope) checked and said, "She is unlucky.” When Vidya and her parents went to meet the producer in Chennai, he asked her parents, "Does she even look like a heroine?"

"That comment on my appearance was very damaging," shared Vidya, adding, "For about six months I didn't have the guts to look at myself."

The difficult phase in Vidya's career continued for almost three years, and during this time, the actor thought of quitting acting often. "But, the fire in my belly outshone everything else," said Vidya.

There were times when Vidya was body-shamed. She admitted, "Yes, there was a witch hunt, if I have to be honest. It came from a personal issue that someone was having with me. But it’s okay. I am better for it today."

The 'Tumhari Sulu' actor also called herself a victim of Page 3 culture. "The Page 3 culture had started and I was appearing in it for all the wrong reasons. People would just mention me in articles not related to me also," she said. However, Vidya rose above it all and managed to live life on her terms. "Today, I do exactly what I want and wear exactly what I want and don’t care about what anyone has to say. Therefore, everyone has begun to say ‘oh wow’," the actor concluded.

Vidya Balan will next be seen in 'Do Aur Do Pyaar', co-starring Pratik Gandhi, Illeana D'Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy in pivotal roles. The light-hearted romantic comedy will hit the cinema halls on April 19.

Published By:
Arushi Jain
Published On:
Apr 15, 2024