DARES TO DREAM DIFFERENT: Vidya Balan

UNAPOLOGETICALLY TRUE TO HERSELF, VIDYA BALAN RADIATES AUTHENTICITY IN A WORLD THAT SOMETIMES DEMANDS CONFORMITY. SHE IS NOT JUST AN ACTOR; SHE IS A VIBRANT SYMPHONY OF TALENT, A MAGICAL ENIGMA THAT CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES WITH EACH PERFORMANCE. IN A REALM WHERE OPINIONS CLAMOUR FOR ATTENTION, VIDYA REMAINS UNTOUCHED, MARCHING TO THE BEAT OF HER OWN CINEMATIC DRUM. HER JOURNEY IS NOT JUST ABOUT CONQUERING ROLES, IT IS ABOUT EMBRACING LIFE WITH GUSTO.

- Parineeta Sethi

Dominating the Bollywood industry as a leading actor for so many years, what do you feel about the industry?

I am very partial to this place. The film industry is where I am living my dream of being an actor every single day, and I have received so much love. There are more positives. People have been pretty professional. They eat, sleep, breathe the same film for those two-three months, which creates a great bonding on sets. It is the only place which is secular in the truest sense of the world. It does not matter what religion you belong to, which background you come from, what language you speak, or what food you eat, what you bring to the table is the only measure for you to get work. Nothing succeeds like success and the film industry is an embodiment of that adage, nothing else matters. Lately, we have all begun to take ourselves too seriously. There is so much pressure to do the right things. It is just exhausting! I, honestly, couldn’t care less. I do what I want to do, you don’t like it too bad.

Navigating the glamorous yet demanding world of Bollywood can be intense. How do you maintain your authenticity and well-being in an industry that sometimes pushes certain beauty standards?

You realise that no matter what you do, you are never going to have everyone’s approval. There are always naysayers. The only person whose approval I need to seek is the one I see in the mirror. I am grateful to all those people who watch my films, who send me love, who I receive love from, but I do what I want to otherwise it is impossible.