Saree, Cinema, And Self-Worth: Celebrating 20 Years Of Vidya Balan

Two decades ago, a soft-spoken woman in vintage silks walked into Indian cinema and slowly rewrote every rule in the book. As Vidya Balan completes 20 years in the industry, we take a look at the filmography, fashion, and feminism that have defined her unapologetic rise.

Parineeta to Sherni: Filmography Of A Woman Who Led From The Front

When Vidya Balan made her Hindi film debut in Parineeta (2005), she knew she wasn't just stepping into a leading role she was stepping into a legacy. Playing Lalita, a quietly defiant woman in 1960s Calcutta, she earned comparisons to the major icons, but it was clear from the get-go: Vidya was not here to imitate. She was here to shake things up.

Over the next 20 years, Balan would star in some of the most iconic female-led films in contemporary Hindi cinema — Kahaani (2012), The Dirty Picture (2011), Tumhari Sulu (2017), Shakuntala Devi (2020), and Sherni (2021) each centered around women with agency, flaws, humour, and heft.

While The Dirty Picture won her a National Film Award, Kahaani proved a thriller didn’t need a male hero. In Tumhari Sulu, she played a saree-clad housewife who becomes a late-night radio jockey, turning the simple phrase “Main kar sakti hai,” into a feminist mantra. In Sherni, her character tackled patriarchy in forest departments and the fragility of male egos quietly, but firmly.

In an industry obsessed with youth and romantic leads, Vidya carved a space where age, weight, and marital status weren’t limitations, they were tools of storytelling.

The Saree: Not Just a Style Statement, But a Cultural Shift

Fashion in Bollywood has long been dictated by trends, but Vidya Balan refused to be dressed by consensus. Vidya chose the saree. Not as a fallback, but as a feminist declaration.

Styled frequently by designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee in the early 2010s, Vidya brought back vintage glamour to the red carpet. Think: kanjeevarams with temple jewellery, full-sleeve blouses, bold bindis, and middle-parted hair. Later, she leaned into handlooms from Raw Mango, Anavila, and Ritu Kumar, giving regional weaves the kind of spotlight normally reserved for international couture.

Her fashion journey hasn’t always been smooth. Early criticism targeted her "repetitive" style or "matronly" silhouettes. But Vidya didn’t buckle, she doubled down. Over time, critics became admirers. Her look became her signature.

In recent years, she’s played with fusion drapes, belt cinches, and linen textures but always within the silhouette of the saree. Even at Cannes 2023, her imagined presence trended on social media, with fans speculating what regional weave she’d bring to the red carpet.

A Body Of Work And A Body That Refused To Shrink

If there’s one thing Vidya Balan never let define her, it was the industry’s obsession with physical perfection. Throughout her career, she’s battled fat-shaming headlines, unsolicited diet advice, and toxic comparisons. Her response? Choosing roles that mirrored real women, in all their body types.

In The Dirty Picture, she famously gained 12 kilos to play Silk Smitha, refusing to fit into Bollywood’s “thin is sexy” bracket. In Tumhari Sulu, she embraced the housewife role with comfort and pride, looking radiant in everyday wear. In Jalsa (2022), she played a conflicted journalist in kurtas and greys.

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“I’ve finally made peace with my body,” she shared in a candid Instagram post in 2020. “It’s not a battle anymore. It’s a relationship.”

This body-positive stance hasn’t gone unnoticed. In fact, Vidya has become a quiet icon for women across generations who don’t see themselves in airbrushed magazine covers. She shows up as she is — beautiful, powerful, and enough.

Feminist Without the Fuss: Vidya’s Off-Screen Impact

Off-screen, Vidya’s feminism is unfiltered but unfussy. She doesn’t sermonise, but she also doesn’t shy away from speaking her mind. 

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Her Instagram feed is a mix of traditional looks, slice-of-life humour, self-shot reels, and unfiltered captions. At a time when celebrity social media is often hyper-curated, Vidya brings a refreshing dose of reality. In 2021, she was part of Amazon Prime Video’s “Women in Film” panel, where she articulated the need for “women to tell their own stories — not be written as symbols.” It’s a philosophy that runs through her two-decade career.

20 Years Later, She’s Still the Leading Lady — Just On Her Own Terms

In an era where many actresses fade from the spotlight after marriage or motherhood, Vidya continues to lead major projects. She’s reportedly working on a new film with Tumhari Sulu director Suresh Triveni and is also involved in developing a women-centric anthology for OTT.

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And while her contemporaries flirt with experimental fashion, Vidya’s sarees remain a style constant — as iconic as her performances.

So here’s to 20 years of Vidya Balan — the heroine who made her own rules, wore them like a badge of honour, and never once apologised for being too much, too bold, too Indian, or too real. Because frankly, we wouldn’t have it any other way.