‘I don’t read reviews,’ says actor Vidya Balan, on dealing with criticism

“Main Silk hoon, Silk…koi film nahin joh interval ke baad badal jaoongi (I am Silk [Smitha], not a film that will change after the interval).”

True to her dialogue from her National Award-winning film The Dirty Picture (2011), actor Vidya Balan has never changed her thought process to fit into mainstream Hindi cinema. Balan never needed to be saved; and she has never been obliged to play another damsel in distress. 

Right from her critically acclaimed projects—Parineeta (2005), Kahaani (2012), No One Killed Jessica (2011), and Shakuntala Devi (2020)—to commercially successful movies like Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007) and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 (2024), Balan has managed to play an integral part in all her films, even when not playing the lead role.

While her attempts at a film career are a mix of highs and lows, the actor never took the path of appearing as an accessory—a fate that many Indian actresses who have faced more ‘flops’ than 'successes' at the box office are often relegated to. 

The secret? “I don’t read any reviews, or watch entertainment news… I tune into my internal voice. I grieve when something doesn’t work but criticism doesn’t reach me,” said Balan at the TiE Global Summit 2024 in Bengaluru.

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Much like in her reel life, in real life too Balan insists that society has to facilitate things to make life easier for women. “We need to stand by our women. We as people need to look at women with more confidence,” she said. Addressing the women entrepreneurs at the conclave, Balan added, “Recognise your innate confidence; and fake it till you eventually make it.” 

The Indian actor, who is known for changing the portrayal of women in Bollywood cinema, compares herself to the ‘deaf frog’ from the classical fable.

“Irrespective of criticism, I only know my inner voice. I have developed the courage to be myself and I know when I have worked hard. When I know that I haven’t given my 100%, I forgive (myself) and move on… I am only human! But you cannot allow the naysayers to determine your path,” she said. 

Determined and dream-oriented 

Balan was born and raised in a traditional Tamil Brahmin household in Mumbai, where academics was seen as paramount to success. But she grew up with only one dream—to be an actor. 

After starring in television sitcom Hum Paanch at the age of 16, Balan faced several rejections—including a film being shelved and many instances where she was replaced with other actors. But none of these failures have been able to dull her sparkle. “No failure is big enough and no success is big enough… As long as the sun shines, there’s hope in the world,” an optimistic Balan told the audience.  

It was eventually her appearances in television commercials, and subsequently in music videos for Indian rock band Euphoria and Shubha Mudgal, that caught the attention of film directors. Pradeep Sarkar’s Parineeta was Balan’s big break. 

“When you truly desire something, the universe aligns… No obstacle can be bigger than one’s dreams,” said Balan, crediting her success to her aspiration of working in films. “I treat what I do as a job…You have to keep at it, come rain or come shine."

Over the years, even after appearing in over 40 films, across the Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam film industries, Balan continues to treat every project with as much zeal as she did with her first.

“When I have had a big success and go to work on a new movie, I am just as nervous… I have to approach everything with a freshness,” she said.

This optimistic attitude, paired with her ever-cheerful laughter, is a result of her prayers. The only force that has kept her grounded over the years is the power of prayers.

“I pray a lot… And not about the things that I have already achieved, but about how things can get better from here."

If there’s one learning that Balan is truly grateful for in her 30-year-long film journey, it is hope. “It is never too late to re-start… It is the most valuable lesson that this profession has taught me."