Vidya Balan, who is currently creating buzz for her weight loss, once opened up about a tough period in her career when she faced multiple rejections and was replaced in a significant number of films. These setbacks deeply affected her self-esteem, to the point that she felt too unattractive to look at herself in the mirror for about six months.
During this challenging phase, she was removed from more than a dozen films in quick succession, which left her feeling disheartened.
“They Made Me Feel So Ugly”
In an early interview, Vidya recalled one incident where she felt so frustrated by a replacement that she walked from Marine Drive to Bandra under the intense sun. She mentioned that some of the producers who had replaced her in the past have since reached out to offer her roles, but she declined their offers politely.
“In the recent times, I have received calls from them (producers who earlier replaced her in their films) but I politely refused to be part of their films. I was kicked out of 13 films. When one producer replaced me in a film, their behaviour with me was very bad. They made me feel so ugly that for six months, I could not gather the courage to look at myself in the mirror>”
Vidya also recalled her reaction to one such rejection that she got around 2003-2004 and told a publication, “I had signed two films with K Balachander at a time when I was being replaced in many films. I got to know that I was also replaced in Balachander’s film and I was not even informed. I could sense something was wrong because we were supposed to go to New Zealand for the shoot but they hadn’t even asked for my passport.”
“I Had Been Replaced”
She added, “When my mom called Balachander’s daughter, we got to know that I had been replaced.” Vidya said that she was very angry and started walking from Marine Drive to Bandra even though it was very hot in the day. “I realised I had been walking for hours. I cried a lot. Those memories are hazy now but whatever I touched in those three years, turned useless.”
On the work front, Vidya will soon be seen in Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 with Kartik Aaryan in lead along with Triptii Dimri and Madhuri Dixit.
