Bollywood A-lister Vidya Balan revealed that she didn’t look in the mirror for more than six months because she felt ugly after a filmmaker’s derogatory comment about her.
In a new interview with an Indian media outlet, Vidya Balan, who started her acting career on TV, before making her way to the big screen with a Bengali film, recalled her struggle during the early days in the industry.
Balan shared that she was replaced from a Tamil film after shooting for only two days, and when she asked the producer for the reason, he made derogatory comments about the acclaimed actor.
“I did a Tamil film. I shot for it for two days and then I got replaced,” revealed the ‘Parineeta’ actor.
She continued, “I went with my parents to speak to the producer at his office in Chennai. He showed us some clips from the film and said to my parents, ‘Dekho, kisi angle se heroine dikhti hai (Does she look like a heroine from any angle)? She doesn’t know how to act or dance’.”
“I was thinking, first let me act and dance; I hardly shot for the film,” Balan added. “For six months, I didn’t look at myself in the mirror because I felt ugly.”
“If you want to reject someone, do that, but always be kind with your words because words have the power to be really very damaging or nurturing. I will never forget that. It was an early lesson in life to be kind to people because he really destroyed my self-image for six months,” she noted.
On the work front, Balan is awaiting the release of Anees Bazmee’s horror-comedy ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3’, co-starring Kartik Aaryan, Madhuri Dixit and Triptii Dimri.