After appearing in many music videos and television commercials, Vidya Balan’s film career began with the Bengali film Bhalo Theko (2003), which won her an Anandalok Purashkar award for Best Actress. Balan made her Hindi film debut with the musical drama Parineeta (2005), for which she was nominated for several awards. Paa (2009), Ishqiya (2010) and No One Killed Jessica (2011) gave her a reputation as an actress who broke gender stereotypes.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
