Vidya Balan on being called a ‘Jinx’ early in her career: ‘I wasn’t Mentally Open’!
Vidya Balan is embracing darker roles with her Tamil cinema debut in Jailer 2, where she plays Kantha, an antagonist opposite superstar Rajinikanth. In an interview with SCREEN, the actor recalled feeling embarrassed when her hand began trembling while filming a scene in which she blows cigarette smoke into Rajinikanth’s face. She said the nicotine affected her physically, but the veteran actor was “very sweet” about the incident.
Vidya also opened up about being dropped from several Malayalam and Tamil films early in her career after being labelled a “jinx” following the shelving of Chakram. She said those experiences made her hesitant to work beyond Hindi cinema for years, but she now believes in “divine timing” and hopes to act in films across Indian languages. The actor also revealed that she still hopes to play former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in a long-discussed series.
