Vidya Balan to sell silk

Vidya Balan brought the sari back in vogue, dressing up in the traditional six yards at most award functions and events. At the same time, the success of her film, The Dirty Picture (2011), gave the Bollywood star a big following in the south.

Vidya Balan brought the sari back in vogue, dressing up in the traditional six yards at most award functions and events. At the same time, the success of her film, The Dirty Picture (2011), gave the Bollywood star a big following in the south. That explains why a big sari firm from down south has signed Vidya to endorse their brand.

Vidya has apparently bagged an endorsement deal worth a whopping Rs 5 crore. The fat paycheque surely puts her in the big league of actors with the biggest endorsement deals.

“The brand is based in Chennai and although they cater mainly to traditional customers, they wanted to promote a more modern look for youngsters. That’s how Vidya came into the picture,” says a source.

Vidya, who is presently shooting for UTV’s production, Ghanchakkar, with Emraan Hashmi, will shoot for the campaign once she wraps up the first schedule of Raj Kumar Gupta’s film. “She doesn’t want to do things in a hurry. That’s why she has informed the sari brand representatives that she will start work on the campaign only when she has a little free time,” adds the source.

When contacted, Atul Kasbekar of Bling! Entertainment (Vidya’s talent management firm) refused to get into the details of the deal: “We have positioned Vidya as India’s Meryl Streep. To a movie-going audience worldwide, if the venerable Ms Streep’s name is in the title, that is reason enough to watch the film. We believe that Vidya is now in that league in India, with a unique combination of critically acclaimed performances and box-office success.”