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Vidya Balan says she was so angry with the Tamil film industry for replacing her in multiple films in the beginning of her career that she stopped considering offers from them.
After a cameo in Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai, Vidya Balan finally made her full-fledged Tamil debut with Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2.
After dabbling in Hindi, Bangla, Marathi, Malayalam and Telugu cinema, Vidya Balan finally forayed into the Tamil film industry with a full-fledged role in Jailer 2 starring Rajinikanth. While she made a cameo appearance in Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai in 2019, she was offered a major role opposite Rajinikanth in one of his films in 2017. But destiny had different plans.
Back when Kaala was in the development stage and was being widely speculated as a spin-off to Kabali, Vidya was approached to play Rajinikanth’s love interest in it. In fact, when asked about it at the time, she kept it cryptic, saying, “We will know in a while.” The casting, however, fell through and eventually, Huma Qureshi landed the part.
Speaking exclusively to News18, Vidya breaks silence on the same and says, “Yes, I was offered the film but I couldn’t do it because I was shooting for something else at the same time. I was reading that film and the dates couldn’t change. I lost out on the opportunity to work with Rajini sir a few years ago. I think it’s all about divine timing. I’m glad it worked out this time around.”
Incidentally, after her first film Chakram with Mohanlal got shelved, Vidya was labelled ‘jinxed’, leading her to get replaced in Tamil films like Run and Bala, among many others. Talking about returning to the industry after all these years, she says, “Like I said, it’s all about timing. At that time, I went through a lot of rejections here. And then, for a while, I didn’t consider doing a Tamil film.”
She adds, “I was angry. But you grow and mature and learn that it was how it was meant to happen. For Parineeta to happen, all these things had to happen. So, you can’t hold this against anyone. I also began to understand this. I was ready to consider working in Tamil and an exciting opportunity like Jailer 2 showed up.” But did she receive other Tamil offers in all these years?
“I was getting offers but I wasn’t getting exciting ones. And for the longest time, I didn’t want to consider them. I was like, ‘You rejected me, so I’m rejecting you now.’ But who was I rejecting? I guess I had to go through that to learn and grow from it. As I grew in age and experience, I realised that all this is pointless. I was meant to go through all of this. Koi gila shikwa nahi raha,” she remarks.
At present, Vidya’s shooting for her next Tamil film, which is being directed by R Balki. Sharing her excitement, she tells us, “When I opened myself up to the idea that I would be happy to do a Tamil film, interesting films showed up. And look at what’s happening today! I’m doing another Tamil film with Balki. This is how it was meant to be – na samay se pehle, na samay ke baad.”
At A Glance
Vidya Balan made a cameo appearance in Ajith’s Nerkonda Paarvai in 2019.
Vidya Balan was originally approached to play Rajinikanth’s love interest in Kaala in 2017.
Huma Qureshi ultimately landed the role in Kaala after scheduling conflicts prevented Vidya Balan from taking it.
Vidya Balan is currently shooting for a new Tamil film directed by R Balki.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Vidya Balan turned down the role of Rajinikanth’s love interest in Kaala because she had a date clash and was shooting for another project at that time.
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Titas Chowdhury is a Special Correspondent at News18 Showsha. She writes about cinema, music and gender in cinema. Interviewing actors and filmmakers, writing about latest trends in showbiz and bringi…Read More
October 16, 2026, 06:58 IST