Vidya Balan set to play India’s Iron Lady Indira Gandhi

Vidya Balan seems to have bagged one of the most coveted roles in Bollywood. The actress will play Indira Gandhi in an adaptation of journalist Sagarika Ghose’s book Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister. Ghose announced on Twitter that a deal has been signed between her publisher, Juggernaut Books and Vidya Balan on Wednesday.

 

Just signed the contract for movie rights for my book "Indira, India's Most Powerful PM" with @vidya_balan and @roykapurfilms! Utterly elated!! Look fwd to seeing INDIRA on screen! @juggernautbooks #IndiraTheMovie

— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) January 10, 2018

Viday Balan too said in a statement that she was happy to have acquired the book rights because she has always wanted to play Indira Gandhi. “I haven’t decided yet whether it should be a film or a web series, but that will take a while anyway,” Balan said.

 

Sagarika Ghose received polarising reviews for her book on Indira Gandhi. Her book draws anecdotes from several historians and biographers’ works over the years. Indira: India’s Most Powerful Prime Minister explores the tragic chapters of Gandhi’s failed marriage, her turbulent relationship with her son Sanjay and the possible reasons behind the Emergency that was imposed in 1975. The book also delves into Indira’s countless political rivalries.

 

Interestingly, actress Supriya Vinod played the role of Indira Gandhi in Jabbar Patel’s 2014 movie Yashwantrao Chavan and Madhur Bhandarkar’s 2017 political drama Indu Sarkar. Vidya, 39, was last seen in the role of a middle class housewife in Tumhari Sulu.

 

Vidya Balan has portrayed some of Bollywood’s finest roles from Silk Smitha in Dirty Picture to a pregnant lady in Kahaani. Playing a prominent character like Indira Gandhi, India’s first and only woman Prime Minister till date, will certainly add to Balan’s already rich acting profile.