Vidya Balan’s debut film ‘Parineeta’ recently completed 20 years. As the movie directed by the late Pradeep Sarkar paved the way for Vidya in the industry and continues to be remembered for its soul-stirring music, did you know that the first choice for the film was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra had revealed it during a press meet for the film. The producer, director shared, “When we thought of Parineeta, I immediately thought of a face like Aishwarya Rai. The character is one that two men fall in love with…so the heroine has to be bigger.” But everything changed when he saw Vidya’s audition. “I was like let me see what she can do…she cleared it,” Chopra recalled.But it took Vidya 75 auditions before she finally got the part. Music composer Shantanu Moitra, who worked on the film, also remembered the struggle Vidya went through before being finalised. Speaking to IANS, he said, “I asked her what she was doing and she said she was here for audition. I’m talking about Vidya Balan. This story is for those people who think that enough is enough, let’s give up. The girl auditioned about 75 times and got rejected every single time. Can you imagine her self-worth?”According to Shantanu, director Pradeep Sarkar finally decided to try something different after all those rejections. “At that time, many top actresses were giving the same auditions as well and calling him for the role. Think about the pressure on that girl! I still remember the day after getting rejected for the 75th time, there was a Bryan Adams concert in Mumbai and she said that she was going for it. At that time, Pradeep said that ‘let’s do one last audition’ and around 3:30, she quickly came and gave the test with the belief that it won’t happen and after her test, she left for the concert,” he shared.It was at that very concert that Vidya’s life changed forever. Shantanu revealed, “Pradeep was calling Vidya but she was thinking about switching off the phone, thinking that the call was about a rejection. Someone texted her – ‘Dude it’s over, you are Parineeta.’ I think she got the message and she walked outside, crying. She just kneeled and was sobbing because she had got the role. After that film, she became this amazing actress, strong woman but I have seen her in that vulnerable state when she was rejected 75 times.”
