Vidya Balan Completes 20 Years In Bollywood! Lalita In Parineeta To Silk In The Dirty Picture, 10 Iconic Roles The OG Manjulika Ate And Left No Crumbs

Vidya Balan needs no introduction. The actress – who began her acting career as Radhika Mathur in the 1995 sitcom Hum Paanch, completes 2 decades in the Hindi film industry today. You read that right; Vidya made her big Bollywood debut in Pradeep Sarkar’s musical romance exactly 20 years ago. The film – an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 1914 Bengali novella of the same name – also starred Saif Ali Khan and Sanjay Dutt in lead roles alongside Raima Sen, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty and Dia Mirza.

In the two decades since, Vidya has established herself as an actress who makes noise both on-screen and off-screen. She’s know for breaking the norm with the kind of films she choose, the causes she advocates and more. As we celebrate 20 years of Vidya in Bollywood, let’s take a look at some of her most iconic characters. And mind you, we believe no one can play better than she did.

10 Iconic Roles No One Can Play Better Than Vidya Balan

Lalita – Parineeta

In her debut Bollywood film, Vidya Balan essayed the role of Lalita, a simple yet strong-willed girl who knew when to step up and keep her family safe. In this film, she showcased her talent and grace as she captured the audiences with her performance of a young woman caught in a complex love story during the 1960s.

Avni Chaturvedi / Manjulika – Bhool Bhulaiyaa

In Priyadarshan’s 2007 psychological horror comedy, Vidya played the dual roles of Avni and Manjulika. While as Avni she made us fall in love with her simplicity and fell for her not-so-pleasant childhood, her portrayal of Manjulika is the best we have seen of the ghost in Bollywood to date. Her scenes – especially the one where she lifts the bed, dances to Ami Je Tomar and the climax, still gives the viewers chills.

Reshma (Silk) – The Dirty Picture

In Milan Luthria’s 2011 musical drama – inspired by the life of Silk Smitha, Vidya Balan turned into a sex symbol who set the box office registers ringing. Vidya not only won a Best Actress National Award for this role, but she also got the nation grooving to the tunes of Ooh La La and repeating the iconic dialogue – “Filmein sirf teen cheezon ki wajah se chalti hain – Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment, aur main entertainment hu.”

Vidya Venkatesan Bagchi – Kahaani

Soon after playing Silk, Vidya took the audience by surprise as Vidya Bagchi, a pregnant woman on a quest to find her missing husband in Kolkata during the festival of Durga Puja. Her portrayal beautifully showcased her character’s strength and vulnerability so effectively that the end shocked all the first time they watched the film.

Sulochana ‘Sulu’ Dubey – Tumhari Sulu

Vidya Balan experiments and Tumhari Sulu was one that really impressed millions. In this 2017 comedy-drama written and directed by Suresh Triveni, Balan brought to life Sulochana Dubey. As a housewife-turned-radio jockey, Vidya beautifully showcased her charm and warmth, creating a relatable and endearing character in Sulu we all still love.

Krishna Verma – Ishqiya

Vidya Balan’s portrayal of the cunning yet vulnerable Krishna Verma in Ishqiya is a masterclass in nuanced acting. She effortlessly blends seduction, strength, and vulnerability like it’s flipping a pancake, a testimony of how good she is as an actor.

Dr Vidya – Paa

A very unusual film, Vidya essayed the role of Dr Vidya Bharadwaj, the single mother of Auro – a child afflicted with progeria. Her portrayal of a loving and determined mother ready to fight all odds to keep her child safe showcased her emotional range. Her final breakdown can move even the most stonehearted person to tears.

Vasudha Prasad – Hamari Adhuri Kahani

Vidya Balan delivers a deeply emotional and haunting performance in this Mohit Suri directorial co-starring Emraan Hashmi and Rajkummar Rao in lead roles. Vidya really moves the viewers to tears with her raw performance that captures the complexities of love, loss, and longing with exceptional depth and grace.

Bilkis ‘Bobby’ Ahmed – Bobby Jasoos

In Samar Shaikh’s 2014 comedy-thriller, Vidya impressed us as the spirited Bilqees Ahmed, aka Bobby, who dreams of becoming a private detective. When actually hired to solve certain cases, Vidya beautifully brings to life a variety of characters while ‘undercover’ as a beggar, peon, hawker, astrologer and more. She’s an ace actress and this film perfectly proves that.

Vidya Vincent – Sherni

In Sherni, Vidya Balan once more proved why she’s the favourite of many with a restrained yet powerful performance as a determined forest officer. In this Prime feature, she embodied the quiet strength and resilience of her character with nuance that deserves a round of applause.

Which role of Vidya Balan is your favourite?

Congratulations, Vidya Balan on completing 20 years in Bollywood.

Also Read: From Sushant Singh Rajput, Rajkummar Rao to Vidya Balan; Ektaa R Kapoor has given their BIG BREAK to these actors

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.