Vidya Balan (born January 1, 1979) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. After appearing in the television sitcom *Hum Paanch* (1995) and the Bengali independent film *Bhalo Theko* (2003), she made her Hindi feature debut in the musical drama *Parineeta* (2005), winning the Filmfare Award for Best Female Debut. Her subsequent releases included *Lage Raho Munna Bhai* (2006), *Guru* (2007), and the psychological comedy thriller *Bhool Bhulaiyaa* (2007). Balan earned the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the comedy drama *Paa* (2009), followed by the black comedy *Ishqiya* (2010), for which she won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress. For her portrayal of Silk in the biographical drama *The Dirty Picture* (2011), she won the National Film Award for Best Actress and the Filmfare Award for Best Actress. She earned a third Filmfare Award for Best Actress for the mystery thriller *Kahaani* (2012). Her credits during this period included *No One Killed Jessica* (2011), *Kahaani 2* (2016), and *Tumhari Sulu* (2017), which earned her a fourth Filmfare Award for Best Actress. In 2019, Balan expanded into South Indian cinema with the two-part biographical drama *N.T.R: Kathanayakudu* and *N.T.R: Mahanayakudu*, and appeared in the Tamil release *Nerkonda Paarvai* and *Mission Mangal*. Her subsequent projects included the biographical drama *Shakuntala Devi* (2020), *Sherni* (2021), *Jalsa* (2022), *Neeyat* (2023), *Do Aur Do Pyaar* (2024), and *Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3* (2024). In 2026, she appeared in the historical drama *Raja Shivaji* and *The Last Tenant*.

Filmography

• 2026Jailer 2 — Kantha
• 2026Mauja Hi Mauja
• 2026Raja Shivaji — Tajul Mukkhidarat Haji Badi Sahiba
• 2026The Last Tenant
• 2024Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 — Mallika / Manjulika
• 2024Do Aur Do Pyaar — Kavya
• 2023Neeyat — Mira Rao
• 2022Jalsa — Maya Menon
• 2021Sherni — Vidya Vincent
• 2020Natkhat — Surekha, Producer
• 2020Shakuntala Devi — Shakuntala Devi
• 2019Mission Mangal — Tara Shinde
• 2019N.T.R: Kathanayakudu — Basavatarakam
• 2019N.T.R: Mahanayakudu — Basavatarakam
• 2019Nerkonda Paarvai — Kalyani Bharath
• 2018Amoli — Narrator (English)
• 2017Begum Jaan — Begum Jaan
• 2017Tumhari Sulu — Sulochana "Sulu" Dubey
• 2016Ekk Albela — Geeta Bali
• 2016Kahaani 2 — Vidya Sinha / Durga Rani Singh
• 2016Te3n — Sarita Sharma
• 2015Hamari Adhuri Kahani — Vasudha Prasad
• 2014Bobby Jasoos — Bobby
• 2014Shaadi Ke Side Effects — Trisha Roy
• 2013Bombay Talkies — Self, special appearance in "Apna Bombay Talkies" (uncredited)
• 2013Ghanchakkar — Neetu Athray
• 2013Mahabharat — Draupadi (voice)
• 2012Ferrari Ki Sawaari — Special Appearance in Song "Mala Jau De"
• 2012Kahaani — Vidya Bagchi
• 2011Dum Maaro Dum — Cameo as Mrs Kamath
• 2011No One Killed Jessica — Sabrina Lal
• 2011Thank You — Divya
• 2011The Dirty Picture — Reshma / Silk
• 2011Urumi — Makkom / Bhumika
• 2010Ishqiya — Krishna Verma
• MasterChef India — Guest Star
• 2009Paa — Vidya Arte
• 2008Halla Bol — Sneha Chauhan / Sneha A. Khan
• 2008Kismat Konnection — Priya
• 2007Bhool Bhulaiyaa — Avni S. Chaturvedi
• 2007Eklavya: The Royal Guard — Rajeshwari / 'Rajjo'
• 2007Guru — Meenakshi "Meenu" Saxena
• 2007Heyy Babyy — Esha Sahni
• 2007Salaam-e-Ishq — Tehzeeb Raina
• 2006Lage Raho Munna Bhai — Jhanvi
• 2005Parineeta — Lalita
• 2003Bhalo Theko — Anandi
• Hum Paanch — Radhika Mathur

Appearances as themselves (13)

• The Great Indian Kapil Show — Self
• Superstar Singer — Self
• Rising Star — Self
• The Kapil Sharma Show — Self
• Yaaron Ki Baraat — Self
• Son of Abish — Herself
• The Anupam Kher Show — Herself
• Comedy Nights with Kapil — Self
• Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah — Self
• 2007Om Shanti Om — Self
• Koffee with Karan — Self
• Kaun Banega Crorepati — Self
• Aap Ki Adalat — Herself