Vidya Balan’s girl-next-door looks and vulnerable sweetness have made her a well-loved actress. She started out doing TV commercials and soap operas, got into film with a Bengali-language movie in 2003, and then had a strong Bollywood debut in the award-winning drama Parineeta (2005), in which she played the female lead opposite Saif Ali Khan. She followed it up with the hit comedy Lage Raho Munna Bhai with Sanjay Dutt in 2006. The year 2007 was a busy one for her: she was critically praised for her performances in Guru, Salaam-E-Ishq, and Eklavya, and she appeared in two hits, Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Her 2008 film Kismat Konnection with Shahid Kapoor (with whom she was romantically linked at the time), failed to do well, despite high expectations. She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her performance in the 2009 film Paa.
