Vidya Balan had asked Satyajit Ray to cast her

"He was not keeping well then. I wrote to him saying please get well soon and I would love to work with you in your film," the actor told musician Anjan Dutta at an adda session here last night organised by the Bengal Chamber of Commerce.

Ray, who was awarded the Oscar lifetime achievement award, died in 1992. Vidya, 35, who made her mark with a series of hits like 'The Dirty Picture' and 'Kahaani', was a student then with dreams of making it big in the showbiz business. "Ever since I was in school I wanted to be an actress because I want to be in other people's shoes. I empathise a lot with people," she said.

As a young girl, she recalled being fascinated by Madhuri Dixit's superhit dance number 'ek do teen' and Shabana Azmi's moving performance in the iconic film 'Arth' (1982). "Not only me but every girl in India that time wanted to be Madhuri," Vidya said adding another inspiration for her to become an actor was Shabana.u00a0