“They Told Me to Change My Face, My Name — I Refused”: Vidya Balan Gets Candid on Career Battles & Self-Worth
Vidya Balan has never been one to follow the herd. Two decades into her acting journey, she’s still rewriting the rules—this time with a brutally honest interview for Filmfare’s July cover story.
In a raw conversation with Filmfare Editor-in-Chief Jitesh Pillai, Vidya lays it all out: from almost dropping her surname to turning down powerful directors, rejecting cosmetic surgery, and finding unexpected love—her story is full of risk, resilience, and resolve.
She recalls nearly erasing part of her identity when working on a Malayalam film. “They suggested I drop ‘Balan’ and use my community name. I became ‘Vidya Iyer’—and cried. My parents told me I’ll always be Vidya Balan. That film never happened. That moment taught me: if it doesn’t feel right, it’s not for me.”
And that wasn’t the only time the industry tried to reshape her—literally. “Vidhu Vinod Chopra said, ‘Your nose is too long. Let’s get surgery.’ I said no. I’ve never touched my face. Just facials. I want to look like who I am.”
Her early years weren’t smooth either, even after Parineeta put her on the map. “Top directors called me, but at photoshoots, they’d say, ‘Let’s make you look younger, sexier.’ I’d think, ‘You haven’t even seen what I can do.’ I was open to change, but it became frustrating.”
One of her toughest decisions was saying no to Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, directed by Pradeep Sarkar. “Dada didn’t speak to me for two or three years. I called, he didn’t respond. I think he felt betrayed. But the story felt dated to me. I had to follow my gut, even if it meant losing people.”
On being cast as Amitabh Bachchan’s mother in Paa, she admits even she was shocked. “I thought R. Balki had lost it. He said Abhishek and I would play Mr. Bachchan’s parents. It sounded absurd. But once I read the script, something clicked.”
The personal side of the interview is just as revealing. She admits she never planned on marriage. “It felt like domestication. I was 33, living with my parents, and loved that life. Then, in a twist of fate, Karan Johar—whose office was across from ours—ended up playing cupid.”
Perhaps the most powerful part? Her evolving relationship with her body. “People say, ‘You’ve lost so much weight,’ but that came after I started loving my body. For years, I punished it—terrible diets, over-exercising, no sleep. Things got worse before they got better. Now, I’m grateful. It’s kept me alive for 46 years.”
Unapologetic and unfiltered, Vidya’s interview is a reminder of what happens when you refuse to play by the rules—and choose yourself instead.
