Vidya Balan Shines in What Tabu Said ‘No’ To
Badi Begum part in Raja Shivaji was originally intended for Tabu
Tabu and Vidya Balan are among the finest talents of Hindi/Indian cinema. But looks like Vidya Balan is doing a ‘Rani Mukerji’ to Tabu’s ‘Kajol.’ At one time, Rani was the second choice for roles Kajol had turned down. And that seems to be the pattern in Vidya’s case now.
When Tabu turned down Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Vidya Balan happily took up the challenge. That story has just repeated itself in Ritesh Deshmukh’s Raja Shivaji, currently having a good run at the Marathi box office.
The role of Badi Begum, the tyrannical queen of Bijapur province who fights against Shivaji, was an author-backed role intended for Tabu. But she apparently said No to it to accommodate her long-standing friend Priyadarshan’s Bhooth Bangla. (She has barely 15 minutes of exposure in it.) So Ritesh chose Vidya instead, and she’s now getting rave reviews for her performance.
Is Tabu making wrong career choices like De De Pyar De and Bhooth Bangla for the sake of old friendships?
