A debut with a Bengali film left such a deep impression on her mind that Tamil actress Vidya Balan went on to act in three Hindi films having a strong Bengal connection, made Kolkata her second home and even vowed to marry a Bengali. But the reason for her bonhomie with the 'City of Joy' remains a mystery that the Kerala-born actress has failed to unravel. “I don't know. I have stopped trying to understand that. I have just accepted that there is a relation. My mom keeps on saying that there might be a relation from past life because I do not know anyone with so much of love for Bengal. Even the man in my life will have to deal with another love affair and that is Kolkata,” Vidya said in an interview. Anything from Bengal - be it the films, food, language, culture, fashion and songs - the 33-year-old Bollywood actress has lapped it all up.

“I even know some Bengali songs and rhymes. I keep on learning,” she said, adding that her unflinching love for Kolkata is so deep and self-evident that people often mistake her to being a Bengali. It was a decade ago when Vidya, who made her acting debut with Goutam Halder's Bengali film 'Bhalo Theko' in 2003, first visited Kolkata to shoot for an ad film.

The first time I came to Kolkata and I felt like I knew it. That was where it all began. I felt a sense of familiarity. I could instantly connect with the warmth and sentimentality that Bengalis have," said Vidya, last seen in 'No One Killed Jessica'.