Vidya Balan has broken frontiers in Hindi cinema as far as ‘women-centric’ films and off-beat subjects are concerned. The actor has been in the film industry for the last 14 years and has created a niche for her natural, relatable performances.

In a recent interaction with film critic Anupama Chopra, the actor spoke of her acting process, journey and the unexpected success of Mission Mangal in theatres across the country.

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Vidya spoke of how she had expected the Akshay Kumar starrer to be a good film which would bring numbers at the box office but, the ‘overwhelming’ response the film received was unimaginable.

When asked that her character, Tara, who has no glamour,  romance, and if she saw it as a risky role, and whether the presence of Akshay Kumar provided some kind of a security blanket, Vidya responded,  “Oh! It did, for sure. My fear with a subject like this is that it could get dry, it could get boring, monotonous but one, there was R. Balki, so I have worked with Balki. And I know that he has a certain relatibility in his writing. There is a certain inherent humour. ”

“And, Jagan( director) has got this great sensibility which is in between what you would call art and commercial… Akshay was the icing on the cake. Because, I knew that he would also bring in his brand of humour and make it that much more accessible, ” she added.

Further elaborating on why her performances are so relatable to the real world and its people, she said, “I come from a middle class family. I have seen my mother juggle. She is passionate about Carnatic music. She has learnt music for years. But, she would have a concert in the evening…even if she was singing in the evening, she made sure she was doing until the moment she left. Making sure that she had even prepared dinner. I have seen these things play out. Now, my sister is a working woman and I see her do that…”

Vidya Balan was recently seen in Mission Mangal alongside Akshay Kumar, Nithya Menen, Sonakshi Sinha, Kriti Kulhari, and Taapsee Pannu among others.

The film released alongside John Abraham starrer Batla House on 15 August 2019.