Vidya Balan is one of the finest actresses in Bollywood today. The actor who started her journey with TV serials and commercials gave a powerful performance in her debut film Parineeta. Initially, she did face setbacks in the form of criticism for her weight and sartorial choices but over the time she overcame all these hurdles and gave a number of super hit movies without any major hero.The Mission Mangal actress, in a way, redefined the rules of the industry for the leading ladies.
The national award winner is currently in London for the shooting of her upcoming movie Shakuntala Devi – Human Computer who is popularly known as Human Computer. She was invited by Imperial College to address the students who idolises her for her powerhouse performances and her exemplary body of work. The organizers requested Vidya to grace the occasion as India’s leading youth icon as they believed her words of encouragement shall have a lasting impact on the students.
Taking time out from her busy shooting schedule, Vidya honored her commitment and interacted with over 100 students at the college who consider her as their idol and were truly overwhelmed to meet her. The organizers were proud to present her ‘Youth Icon’ award at the ceremony, as she had the students in splits with her wit and amazing sense of humor.
Vidya, who will be seen portraying the challenging and inspiring role of Shakuntala Devi (popularly known as Human-Computer) in the movie Shakuntala Devi – Human Computer, got emotional while addressing the students in the same college where the late mathematics genius (Shakuntala Devi) was bestowed upon her biggest recognition and award – Guinness Book of World Records.
During the interaction with the students, Vidya told them to always have strong self-esteem and belief and live every moment of their life with great gusto. The versatile actor also extensively spoke about her remarkable journey in films and encouraged the students to stay positive, no matter what the situation is.
Vidya was conferred with a Doctor of Arts Honoris Causa degree by an Ahmedabad-based institute Rai University in 2015 to appreciate her contribution to Indian cinema and for her endeavour to bring out the strong side of a woman via the silver screen.