I'm no longer trying to be superwoman: Vidya Balan

Versatile actress Vidya Balan, who will clock four years of marital bliss with producer Siddharth Roy Kapur on Wednesday, says she finds balancing life between home and work an "overrated" concept, and that she is no longer trying to be "superwoman".

Asked how does she juggle work and home, Vidya told IANS: "I don't juggle. I'm no longer trying to be superwoman. I am a woman who when I'm working, I'm working, when I'm home, I'm home, when I'm chilling, I'm chilling. Sometimes, when I don't feel like doing anything, I don't do anything.

"So, I think this balancing is really overrated because women are constantly asked to balance home and work and it's unfair," she added.

Having said that, the actress, who was recently seen on the big screen in "Kahaani 2", said when she is away from home and is not there for a special occasion with her family or her husband, she does feel "guilty".

"Maybe I feel guilty because I am a girl. Maybe a man wouldn't feel the same way because you take it for granted that a man sometimes can't make it to certain special occasions because they are working.

"We (women) still feel that we should work and be there (for occasions too). But I think these unrealistic expectations are slowly shedding," she added.

Vidya also turns a year older next month.

Will it be a working anniversary and birthday for Vidya?

"No. Those things are sacrosanct... I'll be home for my anniversary, birthday and New Year. That is sacrosanct," added the actress, who has carved a niche in Bollywood with path-breaking roles in films like "The Dirty Picture", "Ishqiya", "Kahaani", "Paa" and "No One Killed Jessica".

Does she get tired of people associating her with women-centric themes?

"No, because I'm enjoying the kind of work I am doing. People ask me 'Why call it women-centric films, why can't you just call it film?' I say 'because all these years and decades you've had men at the centre of the plot'," she said.

That is changing, said Vidya, who admits she gets "drawn to such stories where the woman is at the centre".

"Someday, when there are equal number of films of men and women at the centre of the plot, then people will stop saying 'women-centric films'. So far it isn't a norm, which is why they say that and, therefore, people ask me, 'Oh, you are doing a women-centric film'," she added.

The actress has been part of the industry for 11 years and says her journey in Bollywood has been "full of ups and downs".

"It's been dramatic. That's because I think I'm an intense person and I don't think I take anything lightly in that sense. But I don't think I would want to have it another way," she said.

"I have learnt so much, I have enjoyed myself. I have lived every moment like I have given it my all. It's been very fulfilling and been a beautiful journey," she said.

(Durga Chakravarty can be contacted at durga.c@ians.in)

--IANS

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