Vidya was born in the
Tamil-speaking Balan family on January 1, 1978 in Palghat, Kerala, India. Her
family consists of her dad, P.R. Balan, mom and an elder sister, Priya. Vidya
studied in St. Anthony's Convent School, Chembur and thereafter in St. Xavier's
College from where she obtained a degree in Sociology. She then went on to
obtain a Masters degree in Sociology from Bombay University. She also studied
and performed in Prithvi Theaters' workshops. Due to tradition of most
Tamil-Iyer families, Vidya and her Priya learned Carnatic dance form during
their early childhood days, but Vidya opted out as the dance classes took place
early on Sunday mornings and as she is not an early riser. Considerably
overweight, rather tomboyish, during her school-days, and an ardent fan of
Shahrukh Khan, she decided to shed those extra pounds when 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. Single, never involved in any relationship or scandal, she claims to
get along well with both female and male friends. 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.she elected to opt for modeling and movies. Facing disappointment after
being rejected by a Tamil producer, she nevertheless persisted until she got
her first break with a Malyalam movie 'Chakram' opposite Mohanlal, however, the
project was shelved, and she had to wait until 1998 to debut in a Surf Excel commercial.
She then went on to appear in several commercials directed by Pradeep Sarkar.
She completed nearly 90 such ads. She appeared in three music videos for Pankaj
Udhas, Euphoria, and Shubha Mudgal in supporting roles. She then also appeared
in two TV serials Ekta Kapoor's 'Hum Paanch', and Ashok Pandit's 'Hanste
Khelte'. During 2003 she was signed-up to play a role in a Bengali movie
'Bhaalo Theko' opposite Joy Sengupta which was a considerable hit. She later
made her Hindi film debut with Parineeta (2005), which earned her a Filmfare
Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress
nomination. Vidya was approached by Vidhu Vinod Chopra during a pop-concert in
Mumbai to play a lead role in 'Parineeta'. She 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'. She then essayed a variety of character
roles, receiving her first commercial success with Rajkumar Hirani's Lage Raho
Munna Bhai (2006). She followed it with Heyy Babyy (2008) and Bhool Bhulaiya
(2008), the latter earning her another nomination for a Filmfare Award for Best
Actress. In 2009 she appeared in R. Balki's Paa, in a performance that
ultimately won her a Filmfare Award for Best Actress. Her next release was
Ishqiya opposite Naseerudin Shah and Arshad Warsi. She is involved with Chenab
Gandhi, directed by Vibhu Puri and written by Bhavani Iyer, which centers
around Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, also known as Frontier Gandhi. Director Nikhil
Advani announced in late January 2009 that he is to work with Vidya. Chand Bhai
will be the title of this film and Akshay Kumar will co-star. The film is based
on juvenile delinquency. Balan can currently be seen in UTV Spotboy's No One Killed
Jessica alongside Rani Mukerji.
