At 33, Vidya Balan is enjoying a peak in her career with roles being written for her and the actress, who recently celebrated her birthday, says she looks forward to ageing gracefully.
“I don’t think about ageing at all. I have lived a very happy life so far and I look forward to it. It may bother me if I am 50 but it is a long way. I believe in the quality of life and so far God has been kind to me. I just celebrate every moment. I don’t bother about age,” Balan said.
The actress feels that though the general attitude about women is changing, there is still pressure on them to look young forever, which she finds absurd.
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“People put so much pressure on women to remain young forever. I think women get better with age. Look at Rekha and my mother, they are getting better with age be it beauty, brains or sensuality. There used to be a cap on married women earlier but we balance life so beautifully now,” Balan said.
The actress, who started her Bollywood journey playing the quintessential Indian woman in ‘Pareenita’ in 2005 and went on to do movies like ‘Bhool Bhulaiya’, ‘Paa’, ‘Ishqiya’ and recently released ‘No One Killed Jessica’, will be seen in a completely new avatar in ‘Dirty Picture’
A biopic on the tragic life of South Indian actress Silk Smitha, the film will see Balan portraying the central character, a complete departure from her earlier roles.
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“I am very excited about the role. I was shocked and thrilled to be offered to play Silk Smitha because she is so unlike me. I am looking forward to begin working on it,” Balan said.
The actress recently completed a gruelling schedule to complete work on ‘Kahaani’ in Kolkata. Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, the film sees Balan playing a pregnant woman who travels to India from England in search of her husband.
“I keep saying that I worked hardest on ‘Ishiqiya’ or on ’Jessica’ but ‘Kahaani’ has redefined hard work for me. I have been away from Mumbai but I will start meeting people now. I am dying to do a comedy after so many intense roles,” Balan said.
Known as one of the best performers in the industry, Balan says she naturally gears towards emotional roles because it helps her connect with the character she is playing onscreen.
“I have been lucky in my roles so far but I think I gear towards drama more easily. I need an emotional connect and I think if someone offered me an action film I will still want to know the emotional aspect of the story. By emotion I don’t mean that it has to be serious, even comedy has it. It is my way of becoming that character,” she said.
Balan has slowly style but there was a time when she faced unflattering remarks about her looks.
“Compliments are always good but I know exactly what I want to do. I feel feminine and sensual in a saree. It celebrates my Indian face and curves. I take comments on my looks in my stride. There could be days when you are badly turned out or have a bad hair day but I don’t care about it anymore,” she added.