Vidya Malavade is currently awaiting the release of her upcoming actioner Ruslaan. The film will be released on April 26. Recently, the actress opened up about facing rejections in the industry. The Chak De! India star, in a conversation with Bollywood Bubble, revealed that Imtiaz Ali rejected her as she looked “too glamorous”. Vidya added that she had to convince the filmmaker to not “take the part away from” her because of her looks. Talking about Imtiaz Ali being unsure of casting her as Vaishali in Dr. Arora, Vidya said, “When Imtiaz's casting team – when they were casting, he kept saying, ‘No she can't do it. She's too glamorous for this part.' He wanted somebody to look like a housewife from the heartland of the country. He was like, ‘How will she carry it off? I don't think she will.'”
Vidya Malavade added, “I remember Mukesh Chabbra's team was casting and he's like do you have any photos like the character they want so I can show it to the team and show. And I sent pictures. He was like, ‘Not these, I want something more.' I was at a shoot. I packed up early, called my house help and told her I needed a saree and blouse of hers. I wore that saree, wore some kajal and styled my hair. I made her only take pictures.”
The actress also spoke about the detailed note she had written for Imtiaz Ali. Vidya continued, “I sent the picture and a message to Imtiaz Ali sir telling him, ‘Sir, please don't take a part away from me because of the way I look. Because I know I can transform and do what it takes to be Vaishali. And he said just give me a few days. A couple of days later I got a call saying that you're on. For me, that was a transformation.”
Talking about facing rejections, Vidya Malavade added, “Too young, too old, too pretty, not so pretty… too whatever, everything I've been rejected for.”
During the same conversation, Vidya Malavade, without disclosing the name of the film, also recalled being once approached to play Sidharth Malhotra's mother in a movie.
Meanwhile, Vidya Malavade is all set to impress her fans as an officer in Ruslaan. The Karan Lalit Butani directorial features Ayush Sharma and Sushrii Mishraa in lead roles.
Ruslaan, which will hit the theatres on April 26, is backed by Sri Sathya Sai Arts.