Vidya Balan On Male Actors Feeling 'Uncomfortable' Being Part Of A Female-Led Film: It's Their Loss

Popular actress Vidya Balan is actively promoting for her upcoming film ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar.’ In a recent interview with The Indian Express, the actress candidly discussed many personal revelations but most importantly, talked about her observations regarding the hesitancy many male actors have in sharing screen space with her in lead roles.

It’s no new feat that many female-centric films have been on the rise; take ‘Crew’ for example. Shedding light on how these very women-centric films are much more exciting than what male actors are doing, the actress stated, “Back in the day? (rolls eyes) I don’t think they’d be okay, even today, to star in a Vidya Balan film or a female-led film for that matter. It’s their loss honestly because we are doing better films than they are. I genuinely believe that. They are doing more formulae-based films; women-led films are far more exciting.”

In case you weren’t aware, her illustrious career spans decades, during which she has shouldered numerous female-centric films, earning both critical acclaim as well as commercial success. Some of her notable works include ‘Ishqiya,’ ‘No One Killed Jessica,’ ‘The Dirty Picture,’ ‘Kahaani,’ ‘Sherni,’ and ‘Jalsa’ among many others. Interestingly, her performance as Reshma in ‘The Dirty Picture’ earned her a National Award for Best Actress.

The actress then went on to say, “Of course, people have been appreciative, but male stars are uncomfortable with women taking centre stage. I don’t think they’d be okay with anyone stealing the thunder. But I never felt bad. I was like if they are threatened, what can I do? (laughs).”

Now, for her upcoming film, she will be sharing screen space with Pratik Gandhi, Ileana D'Cruz and Sendhil Ramamurthy. The Shirsha Guha Thakurta directorial, ‘Do Aur Do Pyaar,’ sheds light on marriage and extra-marital affairs, and will have a theatrical release on Friday, April 19. In addition to this, the actress will be returning to the ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa’ franchise in its third instalment opposite Kartik Aaryan and Triptii Dimri.