Vidya Balan jokes about marrying Javed Akhtar to be Shabana Azmi

Vidya Balan, known for her wit and candid humour, recently shared an amusing anecdote while chatting with veteran actress Shabana Azmi at a film festival in Mumbai. In a light-hearted moment, Vidya revealed her childhood admiration for Azmi, even jokingly saying, “If marrying Javed Akhtar would make me Shabana Azmi, I’d marry him.”

Balan recalled an incident from her youth when she, inspired by Azmi, claimed the iconic actress’s birthday, September 18th, as her own. “I didn’t know when her actual birthday was growing up, but after watching Arth, I learned it was September 18th. So, when a guy asked me when my birthday was, I told him the same date,” Vidya laughed, sharing how she had to play along when the boy sent her flowers on her ‘fake’ birthday. She quipped that she would’ve loved to be born on that date if it made her more like Shabana.

Meanwhile, Vidya Balan is gearing up for the highly anticipated release of Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, where she will reprise her iconic role as Manjulika. Directed by Anees Bazmee, the film, set to hit theatres on November 1, also stars Madhuri Dixit, Kartik Aaryan, and Triptii Dimri.