Vidya Balan says she ‘looked foolish’ when she tried dressing up like other actresses: ‘I was very uncomfortable’

Vidya Balan said that she tried to dress like other female actors but ‘looked foolish’ as she did not feel comfortable and was therefore unable to carry off the outfits.

Vidya Balan opened up about her distinct aesthetic and said that she did not choose to be different but simply ‘didn’t fit in’. Her love for sarees is well documented and she carries off classic traditional drapes and contemporary silhouettes with equal elan.

Vidya Balan said that she tried to fit in with the other actresses but could not.

In an interview, Vidya Balan was asked about setting a trend by opting for sarees on the red carpet. She told radio host Siddharth Kannan, “I was choiceless in that. I didn’t fit in, I wasn’t one of those girls. I realised I can spend an entire lifetime wanting to be them or I can just be myself and hope that someday, people will say, ‘Achcha, yeh sahi hai (She is good)’.” She added that the moment she stopped trying to be like others, she was accepted by the audience.

On being asked if she ever tried to emulate the style of other female actors, Vidya admitted that she did but it did not work for her. “I tried to dress like them and I looked foolish because I was very uncomfortable in those kind of clothes. They carry it off beautifully, I didn’t. I love the saree and I am so glad that I decided one day that I am going to wear what I like to wear, I am going to do what I want to do, I am going to say what I want to say. That is so liberating, it’s so freeing, and then people have no choice but to appreciate you. Because they realise you are too shameless,” she laughed.

Vidya was most recently seen in Amit Masurkar’s Sherni, in which she played a forest officer who battles sexism in the personal and professional space. The film, which also starred Sharat Saxena, Vijay Raaz, Ila Arun and Neeraj Kabi, was unanimously lauded by critics.

Up next, Vidya will reunite with her Tumhari Sulu director Suresh Triveni for a film. She has also signed a few other projects but is yet to officially announce them.