Vidya Balan: “Women now are taking center stage in our lives, they are no more defined by their relationship with men”

“All the exceptional characters played by female actors in Indian film industry in the past and their desire to do more pushed us to reach a stage where we are telling women oriented stories in movies now”, said actress Vidya Balan at an In-Conversation session on ‘Women and the Glass Ceiling’ held on the sidelines of the 54th International Film Festival of India in Goa, today.

Expressing her willingness to play different characters, the National Award winner actress shared that constantly looking for new stories and characters that can relate with the audience is very important. “Unconventional roles and being yourself while playing those characters is very crucial for me”, she added.

Answering a question on her inspiration of doing versatile characters in every film, the actor replied that the desire to do unimaginable roles and to break the stereotyping of female characters in Indian cinema has been a motivation for her. “I love the idea of getting out of comfort zone in each film I do, and that requires a lot of hard work which is very liberating for me”, she remarked.

Highlighting the significance of the portrayal of women in Indian cinema, Vidya said that we all need to shed the stereotypes regarding women that are ingrained in our society. “Women are way ahead of time in today’s world”, asserted the actress.

In a career span of three decades, the actress has essayed unconventional roles with great finesse in films like Parineeta, Bhoola Bhulaiya, Paa, Kahani, The Dirty Picture, Shakuntala Devi, Shareni and Jalsa. Her movies have transformed the portrayal of female characters in the Indian Cinema.