Vidya Balan (born 1978) is an Indian film actress, who appears in Hindi,
Bengali and Malayalam language films. At age sixteen, Balan landed her
first acting role in the sitcom Hum Paanch (1995). After making several
unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film, she acted in television
commercials and music videos. In 2003, Balan made her feature film debut
with the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko and in 2005, she garnered
praise for her first Hindi film, Parineeta. Her subsequent portrayal of
glamorous characters in the films Heyy Babyy (2007) and Kismat
Konnection (2008) met with negative comments from film critics. She
later portrayed five consecutive roles to wide critical acclaim in Paa
(2009), Ishqiya (2010), No One Killed Jessica (2011), The Dirty Picture
(2011), and Kahaani (2012). These roles have fetched her the tag of a
"female hero" and established her as a leading contemporary actress of
Hindi cinema. Balan has received one National Film Award, four Filmfare
Awards and four Screen Awards. She initially drew criticism for her
weight and dress sense, but was later credited in the media for
retaining her individuality and breaking stereotypes of a Hindi film
heroine.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vidya_Balan>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1836:
The Toledo War, the mostly bloodless boundary dispute between
Ohio and the adjoining Territory of Michigan, unofficially ended with a
resolution passed by the controversial "Frostbitten Convention".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toledo_War>
1960:
Australian cricketer Ian Meckiff was run out on the last day of
the first Test between Australia and the West Indies, causing the first
Tied Test in the history of cricket.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Meckiff>
1962:
NASA's Mariner 2 became the world's first spacecraft to
successfully conduct a planetary encounter when it flew by Venus.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariner_2>
1999:
Torrential rains caused flash floods (damage pictured) in
Vargas, Venezuela, resulting in tens of thousands of deaths, the
destruction of thousands of homes, and the complete collapse of the
state's infrastructure.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vargas_tragedy>
2004:
Cuba and Venezuela founded the Bolivarian Alliance for the
Americas.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolivarian_Alliance_for_the_Americas>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
instar:
1. Any one of the several stages of postembryonic development which an
arthropod undergoes, between molts, before it reaches sexual maturity:
the hopper was placed in a box in its first instar.
2. An arthropod at a specified one of these stages: first and second
instars of this species are more susceptible to H. bacteriophora than
later instars.
3. A stage in development: "photographs of the landlady’s children in all
their instars" (Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/instar>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Instructors can impart only a fraction of the teaching. It is through
your own devoted practice that the mysteries of the Art of Peace are
brought to life.
--Morihei Ueshiba
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Morihei_Ueshiba>