Vidya Balan and Priyamani have established themselves as high-calibre actresses across industries. While Vidya has often been lauded for her versatility in films like The Dirty Picture and Kahaani, Priyamani was praised for stealing the show in Article 370 and The Family Man. However, the two leading ladies have never had the opportunity to share space on the silver screen. In fact, Vidya and Priyamani are entirely uninvolved in each other’s lives, a fact that seems rather strange now that the latter has revealed they are related.
In a recent interview with Filmfare, Priyamani spoke about her familial connection with Vidya Balan. It may come as a shock to the uninitiated that the two actresses are, in fact, second cousins. Priyamani also revealed that despite being related, the two have very little interaction with each other.
Not only do Vidya and Priyamani have family ties, but they also share another similarity, namely their background. Both actresses belong to non-film families. Elaborating on their family connection, Priyamani told Filmfare:
“We are second cousins on my father’s side. So, my grandfather and her grandfather are brothers. Her grandfather was the older brother.”
Not only do Priyamani and Vidya Balan rarely speak about each other, but it seems it’s equally rare for them to talk to each other. In fact, the former revealed that she has only met Vidya twice in her life. According to Priyamani, their first ever meeting was at an award function, where things had been arranged so Vidya would be presenting the award to Priyamani.
Priyamani recalled their first meeting while speaking with Filmfare. She also shared her first impression of Vidya, saying:
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“Till date, I have met her twice. One was at an award event in… I think it was in Vizag, where she had come with… I think she had done a Telugu film based on NTR sir’s life. So she had come… I think she must be getting an award or something so she came. They made sure that I was also there at that time so she gave me the award for some film of mine which I don’t even remember. The first time, I actually saw her on stage. She is very sweet, very warm. She said ‘Priya, how are you?’ I said ‘I am good. How are you?’ So that’s when we hugged and everything.”
Priyamani then spoke about their second meeting, which took place at a party hosted by Shah Rukh Khan. For the unversed, the Article 370 actress has worked alongside King Khan in films like Jawan and Chennai Express.
Vidya Balan shared her own feelings towards Priyamani on another rare occasion a couple of years ago. In an interview with DNA, the actress said:
“We are distant cousins. We met on a film award stage once because our families are not in touch. I'm given to believe that she's a wonderful actor, and she's doing really well for herself. More power to her.”
What do you think of Priyamani and Vidya Balan’s distant familial connection? Would you like to see them on-screen together? Let us know.
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