Vidya Balan files FIR against online impersonator peddling fake jobs in Bollywood

Actress Vidya Balan has taken legal action against her impersonator, who has been allegedly asked for money from people in Bollywood by falsely promising work opportunities by creating actress' fake email, Instagram and WhatsApp accounts.

The Neeyat star has filed an FIR at Khar Police Station after she found out about the impersonation when a designer she had worked with got a WhatsApp message from an unknown number in January.

The imposter, who pretended to be Vidya Balan, expressed her interest in working with the designer and said they would discuss further if she was interested.

“This designer immediately contacted the actress to alert her that someone claiming to be her had texted him. Balan was informed about similar activities being done over e-mail as well as on Instagram by other industry contacts,” said an official from Khar police to HT.

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The case has been registered under Section 66(C) of the IT Act, which pertains to dishonestly making use of another person's unique identification features.

On the professional front, Vidya Balan will be next seen in ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar’. Also starring Pratik Gandhi, Ileana D’Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy, the film is directed by award-winning ad filmmaker Shirsha Guha Thakurta, who makes her feature debut with the film.

Recently, Vidya Balan  spoke of how growing up in a home with every possible freedom and where the emphasis was on education; it was only after becoming an actor that she started feeling the impact of stereotypes and sexism “There was always a pressure of being a certain kind of heroine, which I’m not. I don’t know who I am and I’m still discovering. But I knew that I didn’t fit the mould. People around me were constantly trying to mould me in a certain way., At various levels, it was frustrating to try and fit in.”