Vidya Balan opens up on doing Jailer 2 with Rajinikanth after being labelled a ‘jinx’ in South cinema earlier: ‘I was replaced before shooting’

Vidya Balan is returning to Tamil cinema in Jailer 2, starring alongside Rajinikanth. The film will release on October 15.

Vidya Balan will next be seen alongside Rajinikanth in his highly anticipated film Jailer 2. The actor was labelled a ‘jinx’ in the South cinema early in her career after several projects, including her Malayalam debut Chakram opposite Mohanlal, were shelved midway through production. Now, she is returning to Tamil cinema with none other than Rajinikanth.

Vidya Balan in a still from Jailer 2.

‘I was replaced before shooting because of that whole jinx thing’

In a recent interaction with SCREEN, Vidya spoke about working across multiple languages. She also recalled being labelled a jinx early in her career in South cinema, which made her reluctant to take up South Indian films. However, with time, she has come to realise that those setbacks were simply a matter of timing.

She said, “My dream is to do films in all the Indian languages overtime. But definitely because I’m a Tamilian, I’m excited about Jailer 2. I’m also ready for this. I had a lot of misses in both Malayalam and Tamil films at the beginning of my career. I was replaced even before the shooting because of that whole ‘jinx’ thing. So, for a while, I wasn’t mentally open to doing films in any language, but Hindi. But overtime, I’ve matured and realized that was just the time. It doesn’t have to do with anything else. And as an actor, we’re hungry to do good roles."

‘I was blowing smoke in his face’

Vidya also spoke about a smoking scene she performed in front of Rajinikanth and how she found herself trembling while filming it with the superstar.

She said, “I don’t know if it was inhibition. But it was my body having a reaction because the nicotine hit me. Then I began to get stressed because I had to steady my hand. So, I had a physical reaction. Of course, I was conscious that I was blowing smoke in his face, but I’m not shy about smoking on screen. It was just that my body wasn’t used to it."

About Jailer 2

Jailer 2 is the sequel to Rajinikanth’s 2023 blockbuster Jailer. Directed by Nelson Dilipkumar and produced by Sun Pictures, the action entertainer sees Rajinikanth return as Tiger Muthuvel Pandian. Vidya Balan joins the cast alongside actors including Mithun Chakraborty, S J Suryah, Ramya Krishnan, Mohanlal, Shiva Rajkumar and Jackie Shroff.

The film features music by Anirudh Ravichander and is scheduled to release in theatres on October 15.