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She has got her wedding cermony all figured. "Now all I need is the groom!" declares the spunky actor who has battled weight issues and barbs about her wardrobe to carve out a niche for herself on screen.

The spunky actor
Not many know that Radhika, the rather frumpy, justice-loving, myopic character of the yesteryear hit television sitcom Hum Paanch, grew up into the beautiful actor, Vidya Balan. Then, the 1990s saw her play mother to a frisky schoolboy in a detergent commercial. Movies came along after many more advertisements, and here too, she has not shied away from experimenting with her looks, style and her roles.

A shaky start!
"It happened when I saw Madhuri Dixit dance to the hit number Ek-Do-Teen in Tezaab. I think I was in the seventh standard when I watched the song. I knew right away what I wanted to do - it was as dramatic as that! 'I decided to audition. My sister did my make-up and I got my pictures clicked at a local photo studio. About 900 people sent in entries, 300 were called, 150 were shortlisted and 30 got selected - we shot that serial for about eight months but it was shelved, as the channel never took off! But that was a start!"

Films, finally
Vidya's performance in Parineeta earned her a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award. In 2006, she appeared opposite Sanjay Dutt in the blockbuster film Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Once again her performance was well received by critics, and the film went on to become the second-highest grosser that year. Mani Ratnam's critically acclaimed Guru, won her rave reviews too. Her next two releases, Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love and Eklavya: The Royal Guard failed to do well but the latter was selected as India's official entry to the Oscars for 2008. Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa fared very well at the box office while Kismat Konnection with Shahid did just about okay.

Traditions vs acting
"I was doing quite well in Hum Paanch, I actually quit the show because it wasn't possible to run hectic shooting schedules with full-time college - and that too, I was at St Xavier's - they are quite the sticklers for attendance. I kept doing ad films because that meant my face still being around, and they were like a day's shoot of work. I also did a couple of music videos in between… Once my studies were complete, my parents let me take my own decisions. In retrospect, I'm glad they forced me to complete college - I had the time of my life in those years!"