Vidya Balan is the thinking man’s sex symbol and she’s proving that in many ways — from her choice of roles to her support of charitable causes. Vidya endorses the NGO Nanhi Kali, which propagates education for the girl child. Now, the actor has taken her philanthropic deeds a step further by integrating her endorsement deal with her social work. Apparently, The Dirty Picture (2011) star has convinced a hair oil brand, which she is the face of, to contribute towards charity.
Since Vidya feels that education is of paramount importance (Nanhi Kali is very close to her heart), she got the oil brand to contribute two per cent of the sales generated from the product towards the cause of spreading child literacy. It’s believed that Vidya was constantly in the loop about the entire campaign.
Vidya, on her part, is visibly elated about the move. “While there may be an intent (to do something good), sometimes the paucity of time makes it difficult for you to work actively towards a cause that you want to contribute to,” she says. Vidya is already believed to be funding the education of some children from the Nanhi Kali trust.
Ask the National Award-winning actor why she is so closely involved with education and she says, “I’m doing just a little bit, but something is better than nothing. No contribution is small, especially in an area like education, because I truly believe that education alone can effect betterment in so many other spheres.”
On the work front, after delivering back-to-back hits The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya is currently busy shooting for Raj Kumar Gupta’s Ghanchakkar. “I play a Punjabi housewife in Ghanchakkar and hopefully, with this film, I will put to rest the notion that housewives are boring. That’s a very huge misconception and I hope people realise that after Ghanchakkar,” adds the actor. After the completion of this film, she will start work on Pritish Nandy’s Shaadi Ke Side Effects, which is a sequel to the 2006-hit Pyaar Ke Side Effects, that also stars Farhan Akhtar.
{{/usCountry}}On the work front, after delivering back-to-back hits The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Vidya is currently busy shooting for Raj Kumar Gupta’s Ghanchakkar. “I play a Punjabi housewife in Ghanchakkar and hopefully, with this film, I will put to rest the notion that housewives are boring. That’s a very huge misconception and I hope people realise that after Ghanchakkar,” adds the actor. After the completion of this film, she will start work on Pritish Nandy’s Shaadi Ke Side Effects, which is a sequel to the 2006-hit Pyaar Ke Side Effects, that also stars Farhan Akhtar.
{{/usCountry}}Goodwill hunting
Kajol: She is the goodwill ambassador for The Loomba Foundation, which funds the education of the children of poor widows.
Amitabh Bachchan: Recently, the megastar donated his autographed jeans to a charity’s auction to help educate underprivileged children living in slums.
Salman Khan: His Being Human Foundation has two focus areas with education being the core. He plans to make the education system affordable for needy kids.
Katrina Kaif: For a long time now, the actor has been helping her mother, Sussane, run an orphanage and now she will help her in constructing a school for the kids.