Vidya's "dirty" road to success

Vidya Balan has changed the face of Bollywood with her bold and 'Dirty' performance in Milan Luthria's The Dirty Picture. The role, which according to reports was initially offered to Bipasha Basu, landed in her lap by chance and it changed everything for the southern diva.

Post the phenomenal success of The Dirty Picture Vidya is now being compared to the Khans. In one of her interviews she even said: "Well, the Khans can now add Balan at the end of their names, instead of me adding Khan to my name."

Khan or no Khan, Vidya has now inspired many young and old actresses to follow suit and reports are that Kareena also intends to get 'dirty' with her upcoming film Heroine.

Vidya's love life is also on track and also came clean about her relationship status with rumoured beau, UTV head honcho Siddharth Roy Kapoor. She said: "I am in a very happy space with Siddharth. Yes, I want to get married. I want to be a bride. But I am not married yet," Vidya has said. Siddharth and Vidya were recently spotted together on a vacation in Goa and later there were stories of a secret marriage.

Twitter was inundated with congratulatory tweets and wishes for the couple.

According to reports, Vidya has decided to take the moolah game a bit seriously and has already increased her fee for the upcoming films. Rumours also have it that for one film she was charging more than the lead actor, a scene never witnessed by Bollywood.

Next she is getting ready to play a six month pregnant woman who comes to Kolkata in search of her missing husband in Kahaani. But according to reports Sujoy Ghosh has pushed the film's release as he wants the audience to forget her Ooh la la image.

Click on to see how Vidya made her way into the A list.

Vidya was born in Palakkad, Kerala where her father was Vice President of ETC Channel. The Balan household was a spiritual one with daily visits to the temple for Vidya and elder sister, Priya.

Vidya went to school at St Anthony's in Mumbai and then studied Anthropology at St Xavier's College. She had enrolled for an MA at the University of Mumbai when the silver screen came calling.

Her career stalled almost as soon as it started. Her debut film was the Malayalam language Chakram, opposite no less an actor than Mohanlal, but ended up on the shelf. She was next signed for Tamil film Run but then replaced by Meera Jasmine.

Chakram was resurrected with Prithviraj as the male lead and Meera Jasmine again took over the role that was to have been Vidya's. She was also dropped from Manasellam for “non-performance” and was replaced by Trisha Krishnan.

In 1998, Vidya abandoned her non-career in the movies for television, making a series of ad films mostly directed by Pradeep Sarkar.

Music video appearances for bands like Euphoria and singers Shubha Mudgal and Pankaj Udhas were also the order of the day

Vidya's luck turned when she replaced Amita Nangia as Radhika Mathur, the awkward, geeky sister on season one of popular TV serial Hum Paanch.

The Bengali film Bhalo Theko heralded her arrival on the big screen in 2003. Her performance won her the Anandalok Puraskar Best Actress award in Kolkata.

There was no looking back for Vidya after her Bollywood debut opposite Saif Ali Khan in Pradeep Sarkar's Parineeta. Her glowing performance as the dignified and wronged Lalita who has to struggle with economic and social divisions in her love affair with her neighbor, Shekhar, was the first of a series of powerhouse performances.

A Filmfare Best Female Debut Award was on the way and the nomination for the Filmfare Best Actress Award was just the cherry on the top.

After the success of her first two films, the same producer who had dropped her from Manasellam was keen to sign her opposite Kamal Hassan for Dasavathaaram but she rejected the offer and Asin Thottumkal was signed instead.

In 2006, she starred with Sanjay Dutt in blockbuster Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Well received by critics, the film went on to also see commercial success as the second highest grosser. Vidya was on a roll!

Mani Ratnam's critically acclaimed Guru was Vidya's first release in 2007, in which she played a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis. A soul-stirring lip-lock in pouring rain with Madhavan got all the attention!

Her next release Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love (2007) was a multi-starrer, and failed miserably at the box office.

Later that year, Eklavya: The Royal Guard also failed to do well but was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars for the 80th Academy Awards.

Her last two releases of the year, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa fared very well at the box office.

She welcomed the year 2008 with a flop Halla Bol opposite Ajay Devgn.

Kismat Konnection, opposite Shahid Kapoor, was a dropped line at the box office.

Their Konnection fuelled rumours of an off-screen affair too but neither confirmed.

On being asked about her friendship with actor Shahid Kapoor, Vidya said," Shahid is really committed to his acting and that is why it was good working with him." (Photo: AP)

Vidya's moment of glory came with 2009's Paa. Amitabh Bachchan's performance as the child suffering from progeria could not eclipse that of Vidya's, who played his mother.

She became a critics' darling as the femme fatale, Krishna, in Ishqyia. Steamy bedroom scenes with co-star Arshad Warsi helped change her wholesome on-screen image to one slightly more risqué.

Vidya and Rani Mukherji, arguably Bollywood's most talented actresses, appeared together in No One Killed Jessica. Based on the Jessica Lall murder case, Vidya played Jessica's sister Sabrina.

Vidya's screen allure hasn't always translated well onto the red carpet. Many fashion missteps later, she's finally got herself a style fix and is staying off the Worst Dressed lists.

The style fixer is called Sabyasachi, who put Vidya in a series of simple yet stunning sarees in Paa.

Vidya's sexy saree style landed her on the anniversary cover of FHM, on which she appeared sans choli.

On her choice of clothing, she said “I think the saree is by far the sexiest garment, it covers the right amount, it exposes the right amount. It's such a tease and I like teasing”

(Photo courtesy: FHM magazine)

Before her saree-clad FHM appearance, Vidya had been the cover girl of choice for Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire among other magazines.

Vidya peddles Bollywood dreams for a living, but when asked about her dream man the actress joked “I don't see the photo of my Prince Charming in my dreams. I just hear a voice. The voice belongs to someone but I can't tell you who it is.”