"We want them to look like nubile nymphets." Jalsa star Vidya Balan talks to Brut about women, body types, and the questions she's tired of answering.
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00:00I definitely want an NG like Ajay Devgn gets in his films.
00:03Kya ab aapko lagta hai ki aapke filmon mein male hero ki zarurat nahi hai?
00:10We want them to look like nubile nymphs even when they are in their 80s, for God's sake.
00:18Because I grew up a fat girl.
00:19Hi, this is Vidya Balan for Brood.
00:22Kya ab aapko lagta hai ki aapke filmon mein male hero ki zarurat nahi hai?
00:34I've been asked this question for the past 14 years.
00:38Let me turn the question on its head and you're a male star.
00:42Kya aapko lagta hai ab aapke filmon mein female lead ki zarurat nahi hai?
00:46I guess kabhi thi hi nahi.
00:53The kind of cinema that I do, we'd love bigger budgets.
00:57So we're able to open up a canvas of the so-called women-centric cinema to tell also larger-than-life stories.
01:07I think now we're doing the more personal, intimate kind of stories.
01:12It is far more difficult for us to get bigger budgets.
01:17I don't think it's just Hindi cinema.
01:22I think the world over there is an obsession with the thin body.
01:26But I think we have to realize that there is no ideal body type.
01:30Everyone must strive for fitness, but not for a particular body type because you can't fight the body you've been born with.
01:38I think if we all just accepted and respected our bodies more,
01:44and gave gratitude for the fact that our bodies keep us alive,
01:49then we'd probably be happier people.
01:57Barfi is a film that I would have loved to do as Barfi.
02:01Of course, Ranbir Kapoor leaves no scope for anyone to better his act because he's so brilliant.
02:13I would have loved to play Mr. India, but I would have also loved to play Seema, Sridevi's role in it.
02:19I definitely want an entry like Ajay Devgn gets in his films.
02:24I didn't come from a film family and I wanted to be an actor.
02:28And I was ready to wait it out for the universe to make things happen for me because I was scared to chase this dream.
02:38I graduated out of Xavier's. I also ended up doing an MA in Sociology.
02:42I didn't want to complete my college. I was getting work as an actor.
02:46And I remember I told my parents and they said nothing do it.
02:49I was a bit thrown off when I heard the narration because I felt like, oh, she seems morally ambiguous.
02:56And none of the characters I've played have been morally ambiguous.
02:59I think that was the challenge of how to humanize and not demonize her.
03:04I'd like to say to any woman who's going to be watching this, just be kind to yourself.