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

_______________________________ 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

_____________________________ 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

___________________________ 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