After stunning people by taking up the bold role in her upcoming flick ‘Dirty Picture’, Vidya Balan has decided to go for butt pads to enhance her hips.

Reportedly, she is going to be her boldest best in the movie that is based on Southern porn star Silk Smitha, and Vidya is going to indulge in a lot of cosmetic stuffing to look like a sex symbol.

Actually, Vidya was asked to gain weight for the movie, but as she felt the losing process post the film will be a hard process and so she has decided to go for artificial body enhancements.

“While, the buzz was that the actress would have to use prosthetics to increase her bust line for part of the film (the very part for which she had to gain a few extra kilos), now the news is that some bulk would be required for the hips as well,” reported TOI.

Vidya Balan in a voluptuous avatar
Vidya Balan is known for her girl next door image in movies like ‘Kismat Konnection’ and ‘Parineeta’, and she said that getting a chance to portray such a bold character was quite exciting for her.

So much so that even the producer of the film Ekta Kapoor has worked hard with A D Shahana and Vikram dada, on giving Vidya a voluptuous look.

“While Vidya after shedding her kilos and the ‘plump’ tag is probably in no mood to gain extra adipose, since the shoot starts May 30, the filmmaker had to resort to desperate measures,” an insider informed TOI.

The party instinct in Vidya
For all who thought that Vidya was conservative and shy, this will be startling, but as for the actress, she is partying with her friends and co-stars.

“Recently, when Ishqiya won four national awards, Vidya was so elated that she invited the entire team for a get-together. Though she did not win an award herself, she thought it was a great idea to celebrate with the team which has made such a great film,” said a source.

And well, she also makes sure to turn up at every party that she is invited to.

Vidya Balan’s power-packed performance in Parineeta catapulted her to instant fame. Hailed by critics and the audience alike, she soon became synonymous with quality films before her career hit a rough patch and critics began to write her off. Proving everyone wrong, she bounced right back with two back-to-back rock solid performances in Paa and Ishqiya winning every coveted award in the industry last year. The actor who has now carved out a niche for herself shares with us how remaining positive and believing in herself and in the power of prayer helped her spring back-from being written off as a jinxed actor to emerging as one of the most sought-after faces of Bollywood.

Breaking even
Films were a natural progression to ad films and music videos. I had signed quite a few films down South and was gearing up for my big screen stint. Little did I know then that life had other plans. Out of nowhere, the project I was working on got shelved. Subsequently, every other project on my hands also collapsed for some reason or the other. And before long, I was being called a jinxed actor. No one was willing to sign me on. My self-confidence nosedived completely and I was miserable. However, I had learnt never to give up and believed things would change for the better. I knew I had to prove myself as an actor. As I went about looking for work, I took recourse in prayers. Every time I prayed, I felt a sense of calm. And finally, my prayers were answered. I got a call from Dada’s (Pradeep Sircar) office to audition for Parineeta and before I knew it, I was on board. I felt elated, I wanted to enjoy the moment, but I also knew the road ahead was not easy. I had a greater task at hand, that of proving my worth to the world, to people who had helped me sail through difficult times.

Under the scanner
Just when I was beginning to get comfortable with my place in the industry after the first couple of films, I was suddenly under the scanner again-not for my acting skills, but for how I looked and what I wore. What began as a murmur soon became the talk of the town. I was being pulled up publicly at every award function, and in every possible daily. Things got so bad that beyond a point I actually stopped reading the papers. My confidence level started dipping again. Each time I would have to make a public appearance, I would start panicking. However, in spite of all that was being written about me, work never stopped coming to me. In fact, some of my finest projects like Paa and Ishqiya were offered to me during this period. I was made to realise by friends and family that I was first an actor and then a fashionista. And if people were coming to me, it was because they believed in my acting skills. I saw reason and decided to maintain a dignified silence and let my work do the talking. Through it all, I shared my concerns with my sister who kept me going with a strong belief in the saying, ‘This too shall pass’.

And it did! Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee expressed his desire to work with me. And gradually, everything fell into place. Yes, you can win every battle with faith in yourself.

Celebrating me with health
I believe in the celebration of curves, more so because it complements the Indian way I choose to dress. So, fitness to me is not as much about losing inches as it is about respecting my body and keeping fit physically and mentally. I work out with my trainer Vilayat Husain five days a week using mostly light weights, a bit of cardio and a bit of yoga. But above all, I’ve taken great care to modify my lifestyle. And that has worked wonders for me. I believe every woman after age 30 needs to take greater care of herself. Unlike earlier, when I thought it was okay to skip a meal or two, not have a fitness goal or go late to bed, I am now much more disciplined about it all. I have a fibre-rich diet, keep a close watch on my mealtimes and also make sure I get at least six hours of sleep every night. Honestly, I have never felt happier and more content than I feel now, both in terms of my work and looks.

She took people back to the black and white era with her role in the period film “Parineeta”. Then came her fashion faux pas and a dip in the career graph. But a careful and confident Vidya Balan is on the rise again in Bollywood.

Though at 33 she is just six years old in the Hindi movie industry, her oeuvre is so impressive that there was a Vidya Balan retrospective at the Indian film fest in two Australian cities.

From playing a foul mouthed, manipulative vengeful woman in ” Ishqiya” to the mother of a progeria patient to a grieving sister in ” No One Killed Jessica”, Vidya has been proving her versatility with her nuanced handling of different characters.

Her much-talked-about forthcoming releases – director Milan Luthria’s “The Dirty Picture”, based on the life of Silk Smitha, south Indian cinema’s sex symbol, and Sujoy Ghosh’s thriller “Kahani” in which she plays a six-month pregnant woman – are expected to take her creativity to another level.

Applauding her work and choice of roles, director Sudhir Mishra said: “She is very brave and very gutsy. Hats off to Vidya. She will last longer. It will pay her off very well. She will be remembered as another kind of actress and remembered more than a lot of people. She should continue doing this kind of roles. She should do what she can do well. She should retain that uniqueness.”

Director Anurag Kashyap feels what Vidya is doing is pathbreaking. “I think she is showing the way for everyone else. Vidya’s fan following has increased 50-fold after the kind of work she started doing. We need her,” he added.

This Iyer girl from Palakkad in Kerala grew up in Mumbai. She did her graduation in sociology from St. Xavier’s College.

After award-winning debut with the period drama “Parineeta” (2005), she charmed her fans in a modern avatar in “Lage Raho Munna Bhai”. Her small but impressive role in ” Guru” too earned her accolades.

But after a meteoric rise to fame, her career took a dip post “Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love” and it seemed as if lady luck had deserted her completely. She was in the news for all the wrong reasons — from her choice of roles to co-stars to her looks in movies like “Heyy Babyy” and “Kismet Konnection” — she was criticised for everything.

Even though they do not admit it, but Vidya “Parineeta” Balan and Siddharth Roy Kapoor, head of UTV, have been dating for sometime. But all is not well for them as there is a point of difference between the two.

Roy Kapoor wants to cast Bachchan bahu Aishwarya, instead of Balan, as the lead in UTV’s next production “Heroine”, directed by Madhur “Fashion” Bhandarkar. Siddhartha has been in touch with Aishwarya and has even persuaded her to do the movie. He has even gone on to say that if she wants she shall be provided with a narration of the script.

On the other hand, Balan is also doing a movie based on South Indian glam doll Silk Smitha. For this reason, Bhandarkar wants to put his project on the back burner. But, Siddharth seems to be in a rush to start of with his movie.

Balan is known to do offbeat roles like those in “Paa”, “Ishqiya” and “Bhool Bhulaiya”. Ash has of late done fewer roles. Her last released movie being “Action Replayy” with Akshay “Khiladi” Kumar in 2010. Hopefully, this movie will not lead to the souring of Ash n Vidya Balan’s relationship.

Buzz was in the air that Parineeta girl Vidya Balan and renowned film corporation UTV’s head honcho Siddharth Roy Kapoor are likely to get engaged.

A top industry source stated “Vid and Sid are close. And in the past weeks they have been spotted spending quality time with each other on two occasions.”

The source added, “The first time was when they reportedly stayed back after an awards night in Singapore and more recently when they were photographed in casual attire at a beach destination in India.”

The two indeed had kept mum about their relationship status but Vidya had recently let the cat out of the bag.

At an award function held recently, Sajid Khan the host of the show accompanied by Shah Rukh Khan asked Vidya about the special ‘SK’ in her life.

To this Vidya gave a coy smile and stated “It’s not SK but its SRK”. Well she was not hinting at Shah Rukh Khan but Siddharth Roy Kapur who also shares the same initials as that of King Khan.

The spotlight is on acclaimed Indian actress Vidya Balan at the ongoing 2011 Indian Film Festival (IFF): Bollywood and Beyond, which is screening a special retrospective of acclaimed Indian actress Vidya Balan’s finest films from ” Parineeta” to “Ishqiya”.

Over over 30 films will be screened at the fest, including 15 Australian premiers. The 10-day festival, which is screened in Sydney (March 9-19), Melbourne (March 11-20), Adelaide (March 22-29) and Auckland (March 24 to April 3), kicked off this week at Hoyts Cinema Paris in the Entertainment Quarter, next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, with the Vidya starrer ” No one killed Jessica” and British producer Leslee Udwin’s “West is West”.

Will Aishwarya Rai Bachchan topple Vidya Balan in the battle to bag the female lead opposite Sanjay Dutt in the remake of Satte Pe Satta? The two heroines were cast together in Guru, where Ash had a bigger role, but Vidya gave a better performance.

A lot of water has flown under the bridge since then. Ash has a disastrous record opposite Sanju. The 2002 film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin, where the two costarred, was a big flop.

And then there was Leena Yadav’s Shabd, another box office disaster. Vidya, on the other hand, has had a good run with Sanju. The first film she did with him, Parineeta, was a critical as well as a commercial success.

Later, Lage Raho Munnabhai was also received extremely well at the box office. Will the makers of the film choose talent over glamour, or cast Ash in the hope of cashing in on her considerable box office clout?

Vidya Balan, who has three Filmfare Awards in her kitty, said that she cherishes her first Filmfare the most, which she got in 2006 for her performance in Parineeta. She confessed at a recent news conference that she was very nervous when she climbed the stage to get the award.

Buzz up!
“I couldn’t see anything and there were stars in my eyes. I was nervous and there was stage fear,” she confessed. Asked how important is awards to an actress, Vidya said, “You always dream of awards. But the biggest award is people’s appreciation. I don’t think of box office collection but do my best.”

It may be recalled that Vidya has won Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and Filmfare Face of the Year in 2006 for her role in Parineeta and Filmfare Best Actress Award for Paa in 2010.

She has been nominated to the 56th Idea Filmfare Awards 2010 for the Best Actress category for her role in Ishqiya. The Idea Filmfare Awards function will be held at the Yash Raj Films Studio tonight. Will Vidya win the award again? Wait and watch!

Vidya Balan will be soon seen with a baby bump in a forthcoming film, ‘Kahaani’. The film directed by Sujoy Ghosh has Vidya Balan playing the role of a pregnant woman. The most interesting part is that Vidya will be seen with the bump not just in a scene or two but throughout the film. The film is about a journey of a lady who is six months pregnant and who reaches Kolkata searching for her husband. Known to be a perfectionist, Vidya is known to live the character she plays on screen. So sporting a baby bump and being comfortable with the look is all a part of the professional regime that the actress follows. She has earlier played mother to a baby in Sajid Khan’s ‘Heyy Baby’.

Director Sujoy Ghosh, is full of praises for the gifted actress for carrying off the role so effortlessly. He said that he had written the script with Vidya in mind and none other than Vidya could have portrayed the character so well. “It’s the story of a woman who’s six months pregnant and her journey. I had written the script keeping Vidya in mind. I wouldn’t have made the film without her. For me she’s a perfectionist who has beautifully brought the character alive,” said the director.

Vidya Balan has another interesting film coming up, ‘No one Killed Jessica’, based on the real life killing of Jessica Lal, where she plays a lawyer and co-stars with Rani Mukerji. The beautiful actress made her debut in Bollywood with the film ‘Parineeta’ by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. She shot into limelight with her maiden performance and made everyone take note of her. There has been no looking back ever since.

She is a powerhouse of talent who stormed onto the Bollywood scene with Parineeta. She later followed it up with some brilliant performances in films such as Lage Raho Munnabhai, Guru, Heyy Babyy, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Paa and Ishqiya. She is none other than Vidya Balan.

Vidya is all excited about her forthcoming film No One Killed Jessica where she plays the role of Jessica Lal’s sister Sabrina. As the film readies itself for a gala release this week, we give you a chance to have a live video chat with Vidya Balan on Thursday, Jan 6, at 1500 hrs IST. Don’t miss!