Vidya Balan brings Bhojpuri punch to ‘Laapata’

Vidya Balan, star of Bollywood-turned-queen of quirky Instagram videos, has once again captured the limelight. This time, she’s taken a dramatic detour, lip-syncing to dialogues from the popular Pakistani drama serial Laapata—but with a hilarious Bhojpuri twist.

Known for her vibrant social media presence, Balan’s latest clip has quickly gone viral. The actor, who has a knack for blending humour with creativity, picked a scene featuring Pakistani actors Sarah Khan and Ali Rehman.

In the scene, Ali says he went missing and she got married, to which Sarah (Balan lip-syncing) replies that she waited for him. Ali then accuses her of not being patient. Just when you think it’s over, Balan caps it off with a punchy comment that leaves viewers in splits.

“So should I have gotten old waiting for you?” says Balan, sealing the comedic moment in Bhojpuri accent. The video has struck a chord with fans across the border, earning widespread acclaim in both India and Pakistan.

Balan’s foray into social media stardom began about two years ago while she was shooting in London. With time on her hands, she decided to take her manager’s advice and explore the world of Instagram reels. “I was shooting in London for the film Neeyat, and I had a lot of time at hand. And that’s why one fine day, I just decided what my manager had been telling me, ‘Why don’t we do reels?’” Balan told IANS.

Her first reel quickly went viral, sparking a newfound enthusiasm for the platform. “I would do one reel in one or two months, and then she said we have the time to shoot a reel, and I was just having fun. After it went viral, I realised that I did what I enjoyed, and people are also enjoying it. So, I started doing it quite regularly. I am just having a lot of fun, honestly,” said the actor, who has a dedicated following of over 9.4 million on Instagram.