Vidya Balan says she doesn't understand why modern woman is being stereotyped

Actor Vidya Balan says she disagrees with modern feminism which restricts women to a stereotypical image and criticises them if they wish to enjoy "traditional things".

Balan, who was the chief guest at the launch event of film critic Maithili Rao's book The Millennial Woman in Bollywood on Friday night, questioned the lack of agency for modern women.

"Why can't a strong woman, a feminist, have a partner, also wish to enjoy traditional things and also wish to take a step back? Why is the modern woman being used as a typical example for what every woman must be? Why is the modern woman being stereotyped? Why empowerment and wanting to live as you please needs to be so exclusive, the actor said.

She cited the example of her 2021 film Sherni and said her character of Vidya Vincent took on the men without doing any "chest-thumping".

"That's why I loved 'Sherni' so much. She took on these men, but in such a subdued manner, not needing to indulge in any chest-thumping. Why do we need to pigeonhole women in a certain way we wish to see them as empowered? Why can't women just be the way they wish rather than how we wish to see them in a modern feminist outlook?" the 44-year-old actor asked.

In the Amit Masurkar-directed drama, Balan featured as an upright forest officer who is tasked to resolve the man-animal conflict.

Rao praised Balan's 2022 movie Jalsa for not being preachy. 

"It's the complexity of such characteristics in cinema that makes it appealing, and what we need more of. That's why I loved your 'Jalsa' so much. She seemed like someone grappling with a crisis anyone could face, and dealt with it how she saw fit. She didn't want to set an example, just do what's best for her," the writer said.

The actor added the film looked at the actions of a person without getting into gender dynamics. "'Jalsa' was one of the few films where it didn't matter what the gender of the character was. A man would also do the same thing if he has a disabled child at home who needs him and is about to get arrested," she added.

Directed by Suresh Triveni, Jalsa presented a captivating tale of conflict between a top-line journalist (Balan) and her cook (Shefali Shah). During the Q&A session, Balan was asked if an end to the conversation around women empowerment would signal that equality has been achieved by society.

The actor said "it'll take a very long time".

"Sadly, we still don't have that many women working in the industry. When it's 50-50, we could let this conversation go. But till then, it's very important. So let it continue till we get to a point where it becomes a norm to treat women as equal everywhere and in everything," she added.