Vidya Balan wasn’t first choice for Hum Paanch, said she was an ‘awkward teenager’ when she was cast

Actor Vidya Balan broke into Bollywood with 2005’s Parineeta, but before that, she had already established herself in the television industry with a role in the hit sitcom Hum Paanch. The actor celebrates her birthday on January 1, and on the special occasion, here’s a throwback to the time when she spoke about how she got the part of Radhika Mathur on the show.

Vidya joined the show a year after it first began airing. By the time, it was already a big hit, and Vidya said that her mother was a big fan. Originally, actor Amita Nangia played the role of Radhika on Hum Paanch.

“I joined the cast one year into the launch and yet they welcomed me with so much warmth. We had nicknames for each other which I, obviously, can’t share,” she said at a special 2016 reunion, to mark the silver jubilee of Zee TV.

Vidya added, “I had done a couple of ad films and was auditioning for television shows when Hum Paanch happened. The show was a huge hit when it first aired in 1995 and my mum, being an avid follower of the show, would always say that she’d like to see me in a show like Hum Paanch. One year later, I got a call from Ekta Kapoor who asked me if I would like to play the role of Radhika Mathur. My joy knew no bounds and I just wanted to scream and dance even before putting down the phone, but for some strange reason, I just said ‘Sure’.”

Vidya also spoke about her experience in a 2016 interview to Hindustan Times. “It was amazing how warm Shoma, Vandana and Bhairavi were,” she said. “I was a very awkward teenager, who had never faced the camera properly, as I had done one amateur TV show.”

Also read: Vidya Balan says she was labelled ‘jinxed’ after her first film was shelved, was replaced in 7-8 projects

Hum Paanch also starred Shoma Anand, Bhairavi Raichuria, Vandana Pathak and Ashok Saraf, and aired from 1995 to 2006. Vidya is now among the most bankable female actors in the country, with hits such as The Dirty Picture, Kahaani, and Tumhari Sulu to her name. Her most recent release was the Shakuntala Devi biopic.

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