Vidya Balan seems to have become the go-to heroine for the all-too-few author-backed roles for Bollywood heroines. After a string of raving performances in Paa, Ishqiya and No One Killed Jessica, Vidya is certainly in an enviable position with the likes of Ekta Kapoor, Milan Luthria and Sujoy Ghosh offering her strong, award-bait roles such as The Dirty Picture and Kahaani.
But there’s one strong role that seems to have slipped through Vidya’s fingers which curiously happens to be a sequel to one of her own films. Because replacing her in the Ishqiya sequel is none other than 90’s superstar Madhuri Dixit alongside Kangana Ranaut.
Vidya, however, doesn’t seem to be too upset about being edged out by Madhuri. She reasons: “In the first part the two men (Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi) come to my character’s village to meet me. In the next part (Dedh Ishqiya), they will go elsewhere, so obviously they will meet someone else and not me.”
Stands to reason. But an actor’s ego doesn’t always see sense. Vidya however makes her stand clear. “Anyway, I like Madhuri Dixit and I'm happy that she is in the sequel,” she says.