Vidya Balan is set to make her appearance in Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2, but her journey back to South cinema comes with lot of instances of missed opportunities. The actor has opened up about being labelled a ‘jinx’ early in her career after several projects, including her Malayalam debut Chakram with Mohanlal, were stalled. The experience made her hesitant to work on films in South Indian languages for a while. However, Vidya Balan has revealed that she changed her perspective and is now excited about Jailer 2, in which she shares screen space with Rajinikanth.
Vidya Balan On Being Labelled A ‘Jinx’ In South Cinema
Speaking to SCREEN, Balan said that the experience made her hesitant to take up projects in languages other than Hindi. However, with time, she has learnt to view that as a matter of timing.
Speaking about her dream of working across Indian languages, Vidya Balan said, “My dream is to do films in all the Indian languages over time. But definitely because I’m a Tamilian, I’m excited about . I’m also ready for this.”
Vidya Balan Plays A Key Role In Rajinikanth’s Jailer 2
Speaking about the challenges she faced at the beginning of her career, she added, “I had a lot of misses in both Malayalam and Tamil films at the beginning of my career. I was replaced even before the shooting because of that whole ‘jinx’ thing. So, for a while, I wasn’t mentally open to doing films in any language, but Hindi.”
The actor said her outlook changed as she matured. “But over time, I’ve matured and realised that was just the time. It doesn’t have to do with anything else. And as an actor, we’re hungry to do good roles,” she explained.
Vidya Balan Calls Working With Rajinikanth An Honour
In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Vidya Balan also spoke about joining the Jailer universe and working with . She said she had watched and loved the first film before being approached for the sequel. “I knew Jailer was a Rajinikanth film because I have watched the film and loved it immensely. A Rajinikanth film is a Rajinikanth film, and I wondered what they were going to come to me with. I am very glad. Kanta is such an interesting character, and Nelson thought of me for this role. Sharing screen space with Rajini sir, what an honour,” she said.
Directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Sun Pictures, Jailer 2 sees Rajinikanth return as Tiger Muthuvel Pandian. The film also stars Mithun Chakraborty, SJ Suryah, Ramya Krishnan, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff.