Vidya Balan has expressed a desire to play Rekha's Umrao Jaan. Was that why she dressed the way she did at Cannes...

Vidya Balan may have won over a lot of critics with her acting chops, but looks like the actress is taking her 'performance' a bit too seriously.

A birdie claiming to be close to Vidya Balan tells us that the actress is dying to play Rekha's role in the yesteryear-classic Umrao Jaan. More than two decades after this, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan reprised Rekha's role but the film sank at the box office.

The source says, `Vids wants to play Rekha's role from Umrao Jaan. She is a big fan of Rekhaji and the veteran actress even participated in all of her pre-marriage functions. She loves her style, on screen and off too.`

Now we don't know if this is the product of PR machinery at work soon after Vidya's French Riviera appearances. However, we couldn't help but remember one of the actress' overtly dramatic costumes from the Cannes red carpet.


Rekha in Umrao Jaan

In the past Vidya has spoken aloud about borrowing inspirations from Rekha's gorgeous Kanjeevaram sarees.

Vids drew a volley of intense criticism of her choice of red carpet attire when she dressed head-to-toe in a Sabyasachi created ghagra choli that was somewhat reminiscent of what Rekha had donned in her portrayal of the ill-fated nautch girl in the 1981 Umrao Jaan.

While the rest of the celebrities donned modern and clean-cut silhouettes, Vidya stood out like a sore thumb draped in her bizarre outfit.

While traditionally the fashion critics have not been very kind to Vids, we wonder now if this outfit was a way to tell the world about her secret wish.