Vidya Balan is known as the Miss Perfect of Bollywood like Aamir Khan, the actress before getting into the skin of the character always studies or carries out a thorough research over it.

Sources said Vidya did the same for her role in Sujoy Ghosh’s next Kahani. She plays a pregnant mother and any guesses Vidya spent almost a fortnight with three expecting mothers before getting into the role.

“Vidya met three expecting mothers who are in different stages of motherhood and studied the process, gynac issues, food habits, mood swings and especially the final day of labour pain,” said a source from the film unit.

In fact she impressed the director Sujoy so much after giving timely expressions during the photoshoots that he went down to her feet seeking her blessings calling her mother of all actreses.

He was aghast when he got to know that Vidya also discreetly managed to sneak inside an operation theatre to witness a delivery of a child and the inducing of labour pain which are said to be the crucial time of women’s life, says sources.

Let’s hope Vidya’s hardships are justified by Sujoy’s film making.

Political parties in Maharashtra, who love to play the regional card, may just have found their new poster girl. After news that Aamir Khan has taken to learning Marathi, we find out that Vidya Balan has also taken up the language. But Vidya says her interest goes beyond the language, and what she really wants is to be a part of the cinema.

“I love watching Marathi cinema, I love the language — not because I have been born and brought up in Mumbai, but because of my exposure to Marathi plays and films. They have so many beautiful stories to tell,” Vidya says.

But there is just one hitch in her re-discovered passion — actually learning the language. “I want to learn the language before taking up any regional film,” she says. Well, considering that Vidya wants to work in regional cinema across India, she may soon know all the existing Indian languages at this rate! But who’s complaining?

Recently while Vidya Balan was in Delhi for an award function, superstar Rajnikanth happened to shower her with praises.

After touching his feet with respect, Vidya was delighted to hear that Rajnikanth had watched her recent film No One Killed Jessica and had loved her performance in it.

Vidya also sought his blessings. This isn’t the first time that Vidya has received great feedback from a superstar. Not too long ago Amitabh Bachchan and Aamir Khan had also raved about her on screen performances.

2010 saw the Bollywood lose out Rs. 3 billion at the box-office in spite of the most hyped mega budget films with super stars in them. But 2011 kick started the year in a good way with Rani Mukherji and Vidya Balan and so far the films released have raked in good moolah for the industry and is showing good signs of profit with a mixed bag of releases so far.
‘No One Killed Jessica’: The hard hitting film on the murder of Jessica Lal was the first film to release this year on Jan 7th. Rani Mukherji was back in the big screen as the journalist hurling abuse and standing up for justice along with Viday Balan as Sabrina Lal. The film collected Rs. 389 so far and is still going quite strong at the theatres after two weeks.
‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ and ‘Turning 30!!!’: Two films of different genre released on 14th Jan and both did well in the box office. While the first flick brought Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol on-screen again in a full out commercial laugh riot movie with emotion, drama, romance and thrill. On the other hand ‘Turning 30’ dealt with the real life crisis of women who turns 30 and how they deal with it, Gul Panag did justice to the role in the light-hearted yet a thoughtful flick. “YPD’ collected Rs. 350 over the week and ‘Turning 30’ also didn’t do bad as it has collected Rs. 50 million.
‘Dhobi Ghat’: The Aamir Khan venture released on 21st and has opened to the box-office collection of Rs.9.3 million. The film is different from any film that has released so far this year, it is the directorial debut of Kiran Rao and is heart wrenching in the way it has showed Mumbai. The city has become the character of a film and according to the critics she has done a commendable job.

One just hopes that as the month ends with the release of another comedy film ‘Dil Toh Bachcha Hai Ji’ featuring Ajay Devgan, Emraan Hashmi and Omi Vaidya and directed by Madhur Bhandarkar, the trend of profit continues. Also it follows throughout the year and Bollywood sees the face of profit in 2011 again with the long list of powerful releases.

2010 saw some big budget movies with stars in them tanking in the box office, while there were some indie ventures, which tweaked the sensibilities of not only the actors and producers of the film but the critics and audiences alike. Two stars that retained the sensibilities this year in a way by being attached to such films were Aamir Khan and Vidya Balan. Here is a list of three such indie-films that made their mark in 2010.
‘Peepli Live’: Though Aamir Khan produced the film which is India’s official entry to Oscars, but it is Anusha Rizvis film. In a very subtle and unique way the director mocks the broadcast journalism and serious issue like farmer suicide and the politics that the government plays with it.
‘Ishqiya’: Vidya Balan takes on the role of a widow in this Abhishek Chaubey’s directorial venture under the tutelage of Vishal Bhardwaj. The film had an unconventional script and this indie-venture wowed the audience and critics alike as people were able to relate to the small town experiences in India.

‘LSD’: Produced by Ekta Kapoor the queen of saas-bahu sagas of Indian television, this Dibakar Banerjee film had its share of controversies prior and after its release. The director’s take on the voyeurism on Indian television where it has become a prime time show allured the audience to the theatres while the critics had to sit up and take notice of it too.

Bollywood has only two self-confessed insomniacs — one is Amitabh Bachchan and the other is Shah Rukh Khan. For years now the sleeping habits or rather the waking habits of these two phenomenons has been discussed endlessly. That the Big B reads or blogs incessantly through the night, and that SRK plays games or tweets till sunrise, is something everyone knows. However, a new breed of sleepless beauties and hunks have now descended on tinsel town. Some by default, others by design.

Vidya Balan says, “I’m very much a night bird. If you message or call me at night, I’ll promptly answer. But try doing this to me in the morning and you won’t even get a response.” Vidya also reads late into the night and on occasion has long winding chats with her friends including designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

Aamir Khan and Salman Khan also (and only) socialise post midnight. Sources say when Aamir keeps his security staff waiting after 11.30 pm, you should know he is likely to pay a visit to Salman’s Galaxy Apartments. The two buddies then go pub crawling (now Aamir doesn’t drink) and motorbike riding in the middle of the night. Their sessions usually end with Salman landing up at Aamir’s home in the wee hours. Of course, if Aamir’s wife Kiran Rao Khan is home, then the early morning activity continues at Salman’s bachelor pad.

After superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Salman Khan, actress Vidya Balan has come out in defense of the Aamir Khan starrer 3 Idiots, saying that it does not encourage students to commit suicide.

“The film 3 Idiots gives out a message to the society that the rat race for higher grades has no meaning in life and the important thing is acquiring knowledge,” Balan who is in Indore to promote her film Ishqiya told reporters.
She said that suicide depicted in the film is not a “suggestion”, but a “reflection of the society”. Balan said that it is a matter of concern that large number of students commit suicide due to the pressure of studies.
“They end their lives at an age they should start dreaming about it,” she said.

It needed the Bombay Times to make this happen… bring all of Bollywood that was in Mumbai on December 4, under one roof for the
merriest party of the year! They came to celebrate BT’s 15th anniversary. And to say the party rocked would be an understatement. True, the who’s who of B-Town have made it under one roof for several causes and celebrations in the past. But what made the BT bash exciting and exclusive was the camaraderie that was witnessed between the legends, the badshahs and the beauties of Bollywood at Mumbai’s historic landmark, the Taj Mahal Hotel & Tower, that night.

The sultry Bipasha Basu promised she would there at 10.45 pm with hunky beau John Abraham, and this striking twosome did exactly that. Ajay Devgn wrapped up his shoot at 10 pm on Versova Beach, took a detour to Juhu to fetch wife Kajol who had just returned from Sydney. And before the clock hit 12, lo and behold — this superstar couple were with us.

Karan Johar made a solo entry, looking dapper as always, talking animatedly on his cell phone, unmindful of the bevy of beauties who longed for him to include them in his power gaze. Priyanka Chopra came in like Pretty Woman with her efficient entourage trailing silently behind. We were warned that Shah Rukh Khan would make a back door entry; gates were checked… and yet nothing could check the madness and the mayhem when the Badshah arrived. Akshay Kumar was almost making it to another location, or so said his manager… but the Khiladi rarely goes wrong when wife Tina is around. So there they were in the midst of our revelry, this handsome pair… cordoned off by their own personal security, causing a mini pandemonium.

The security cordon at the Taj gates crumbled for a few minutes when the biggest Bollywood phenomenon to have walked the earth arrived. Fresh from the accolades of Paa, and driving down from Lonavala just for us, Amitabh Bachchan came with his superstar son Abhishek. And, as if on cue, the diminutive bundle of talent Vidya Balan followed, causing a flutter in the lobby. Next morning, even while Bollywood slept off the effects of its BT hangover, the energy-plus Big B flew off to Chennai.

Aamir Khan, of course, warned us he’d be late. But for the second time in one evening the crowds on Apollo Bunder outside the Gateway of India broke into a midnight dance when the numero uno drove in. Dressed in a Tee-shirt that he designed, Aamir came in solo from his own fashion show…

Interspersed by the glittering arrivals in between of Bollywood hotties Sameera Reddy, Kangna Ranaut, Shriya Saran, Neetu Chandra, Payal Rohatgi, Anupama Verma, Riya Sen, Mugdha Godse, Sushma Reddy, Sherlyn Chopra, Shenaz Treasuryvala, former Miss Indias Parvathy Omanakuttan and Simran Kaur Mundi, Miss World Diana Hayden… this was a show that even the most hardcore cynic would have to admit was the party of the year. Tellyland’s glitterati also turned up in force, from Ronit Roy to Urvashi Dholakia. Truly, if the BT Party was filmed, it would have a golden jubilee run..

There is a strong buzz in the industry circles that Vidya Balan has been signed by Yash Chopra for his directorial next. It is the same project which was supposed to star Aamir Khan along with Preity Zinta.

Vidya Balan has always faced criticism for her weight and lack of fashion ssense, but this time Balan is out to give an answer to the critics.

Not only she has lost ten kilos but has also decided to move to Sabyasachi for her own styling.

Her new avatar was just too adorable as she appeared at hotel Ramada Plaza for the launch of an all-new brand Dabur Uveda – Skincare Expert from Ayurveda. She looked slim and in shape in her red and black salwar kameez.

Her career is also on a roll. She stars opposite the junior and senior Bachchan in ‘Pa’ and also has Vishal Bharadwaj’s next called ‘Ishqiya’, where she will be seen opposite Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi.

She has also been signed by Yash Chopra’s next to be directed by Yash Chopra himself. It is the same project which was supposed to star Aamir Khan along with Preity Zinta.