Bollywood actress Vidya Balan gets her make-up done before the shooting of a promotional song for her upcoming movie "Kismet Konnection" in Mumbai June 11, 2008.Reuters 
Bollywood actors John Abraham (R) and Vidya Balan walk at the music launch of their movie "Salaam-e-Ishq" (saluting love) in Mumbai December 2, 2006.Reuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan pauses as she listens to a reporter's question during a news conference to promote her new film "Kahaani" in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad February 29, 2012.Reuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya BalanReuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan watches a fashion show in the eastern Indian city of Calcutta July 20, 2005. The fashion show recreated the clothes and ethnic jewellery from the Bollywood film "Parineeta" in which Balan was the leading actress. Picture taken July 20, 2005.Reuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan adjusts her sunglasses as she arrives to start a tree plantation drive in Mumbai June 4, 2008. The proceedings of the drive will go to Save the Children India foundation.Reuters 
Bollywood actor Shahid Kapur (L) and actress Vidya Balan pose at the shoot of a promotional song for their movie "Kismet Konnection" in Mumbai June 11, 2008.Reuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan arrives for the premiere of her movie "Kismet Konnection" in Dubai July 16, 2008.Reuters 
Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan (L) and Vidya Balan smile during a promotional event for their movie "Paa" at a multiplex in Mumbai November 4, 2009. The unusual Indian film that casts 68-year-old star Amitabh Bachchan as a 13-year-old school boy, with his own son playing the lead, has the world's most prolific film industry buzzing.Reuters 
Bollywood actors Abhishek Bachchan (L), his wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (R) and Vidya Balan pose for a picture during the premiere of movie "Paa" in Mumbai December 3, 2009.Reuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan attends a news conference to promote her film "No One Killed Jessica" in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 20, 2010.Reuters 
Vidya BalanReuters 
Bollywood actress Vidya Balan rehearses a promotional song for her movie "Kismet Konnection" in Mumbai June 11, 2008.Reuters
In Bollywood, the career graph of actresses seems to fluctuate so quickly. Yesteryears' actresses like Madhuri Dixit Nene, Karisma Kapoor and Manisha Koirala are some of the good examples in this regard. However, this generalisation doesn't seem to hold much water when it comes to "The Dirty Picture" actress Vidya Balan.
The 34-year-old actress, who started her acting career with Bengali drama film "Bhalo Theko"(2003), migrated to Bollywood with a breakthrough performance in "Parineeta" (2005) for which she bagged the Filmfare Award for Best Actress Debut.
Her impressive debut performance caught the eyeballs of many Bollywood filmmakers and it was followed by a blockbuster "Lage Raho Munna Bhai" (2006).
In 2007, she appeared in six films including a special appearance in "Om Shanti Om" and her films like "Guru", "Heyy Babyy" and "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" are the most popular films of the year.
However, the year 2009 marked the beginning of a new chapter in her acting career. She won her first Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her performance "Paa". Post-"Paa" she made her own brand as juries' favorite actress.
"Ishqiya" (2010) is a thriller film that revolved around the role of Vidya who played Krishna Verma, a forgotten widow. The critically acclaimed film grossed around Rs. 25 crore and she won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance.
"No One Killed Jessica" (2011) and "The Dirty Picture" (2011) are her signature style of films - female centric and biopic films.
"No One Killed Jessica" and "The Dirty Picture" are based on the infamous murder of New Delhi based model Jessica Lal in 1999 and the death of south Indian siren Silk Smitha respectively.
"The Dirty Picture," which was made with a Rs. 18-crore budget, collected around Rs. 117 crore. The film brought to her the coveted National Film Award for Best Actress and Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Her latest film is also a female centric film, "Kahaani" in which she plays the role of Vidya Bagchi, a seven month pregnant woman who travels from London to Kolkata in search of her missing husband.
The thriller film, which was made at a budget of Rs. 8 crore, collected around Rs. 75 crore. The success of her latest movies has made her the most profitable actress in Bollywood.
Check the slideshow to know more about Vidya Balan's journey to stardom.
