01 January,2021 07:30 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Vidya Balan Picture Courtesy: Yogen Shah
Vidya Balan is one of the most dazzling and dependable performers in Hindi Cinema today. From searing celluloid characters to faltering film choices, she has conquered all. She's fearless and absolutely fantastic when it comes to essaying complex parts. As she celebrates her birthday on the first day of the new year, here's revisiting her best performances.
A lot has to be said about an actor who shines right from the time we first see her. Hers was a gentle, quaint performance in a gentle, quaint film. It was a love triangle set in the gorgeous period setting with stunning performances and haunting music. At its heart was Balan, looking luminous and making an unforgettable debut.
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The makers may have had Balan in that one line where they informed her she would be playing Amitabh Bachchan's mother. There was a lot more to Paa than Bachchan's prosthetics and audacity to play a child suffering from Progeria. It had Balan return to solid form after the disappointing Heyy Babyy and Kismat Konnection. Mother is a character that can seldom go wrong, especially when your child is Amitabh Bachchan himself.
Raw and rustic, Abhishek Chaubey cracked the essence of the heartland a lot of the other filmmakers fail to, giving Balan her most titillating and terrifying character till date. This crime-comedy saw Balan as a widow who forms a physical relation with a man and becomes the fantasy of the other. Again, a love triangle but on steroids. And sex!
It was appropriate the makers opted for Vidya Balan to essay the role of the South Siren Silk Smitha in her biopic. Both women were unabashed and unapologetic about their plumpness and flaunted their midriff to stimulate the desires of men. The critics looked at this woman with disdain, the front-benchers embraced her sexuality. Balan threw herself into this world of dazzles and darkness, and The Ditty Picture became a shining spot in her career.
Before Aarya and a lot of other shows on OTT asked us this question, Kahaani did- How far would you go for your family? Does a woman's revenge know no bounds? Maybe not. Kahaani, on the surface, was a whodunnit about the disappearance of a woman's husband. As the story progressed, we discovered some shocking and discomforting truths about this couple. Kahaani reiterated why there's no one better than Balan to play such emotionally broken and bruised parts.
