Watch: Vidya Balan's first look in 'Shakuntala Devi' teaser is a hit
Last seen playing a scientist in the Hindi film Mission Mangal, actor Vidya Balan will next be getting into the shoes of mathematical prodigy Shakuntala Devi, popularly known as ‘the human calculator’. The teaser was released on Monday and Vidya's look in the film's poster has gone viral.
To be directed by Anu Menon, the film is being produced by Sony Pictures Network Productions and Vikram Malhotra. Titled Shakuntala Devi, the poster announces that the film will release for summer next year.
Excitement is multiplying each day! Time to dig into the 'root' of the mathematical genius, #ShakuntalaDevi. #FilmingBegins @sonypicsprodns @Abundantia_Ent @anumenon1805 @vikramix @SnehaRajani pic.twitter.com/Ayz2TNlePF
— vidya balan (@vidya_balan) September 16, 2019
Dressed in a bright red saree, Vidya sports a long bob and stands on a prize podium at the No:1 spot while a computer and calculator are placed at No:2 and No:3 respectively.
The teaser is a short clip that introduces us to Shakuntala. We hear Vidya's voice saying “The world called her many things, but we know her by the name of Shakuntala Devi". This, however, is not the first time that the actor has taken up a biopic. She has previously played Silk Smitha in The Dirty Picture.
She was extraordinary, in every sense of the word! Know the story of the child prodigy & the human computer, #ShakuntalaDevi @sonypicsprodns @Abundantia_Ent @anumenon1805 @vikramix @SnehaRajani pic.twitter.com/P2PAqPp5Tt
— vidya balan (@vidya_balan) September 16, 2019
Shakuntala Devi, born in Bengaluru, displayed unique abilities to memorise and compute complex arithmetic calculations mentally, without paper or writing tools. Shakuntala’s father was a circus artist and upon discovering her abilities, he took her on a world tour. Shakuntala moved to London along with her father in 1944 when she was about 15 years old.
Shakuntala entered the Guinness Book of Records in 1982 when she demonstrated the multiplication of two 13-digit numbers picked at random.
Aside from being a mind-calculating genius, Shakuntala was a writer too. Her book The World of Homosexuals that came out in 1977 became the first study of homosexuality in India.
In her other book Figuring: The Joy of Numbers, she explained many of the methods she used to do mental calculations. This book is still in print. Shakuntala passed away in 2013 when she was 83 due to prolonged illness.