No more 'dirty', females getting due in B'wood: Vidya Balan

But no one seem to have told Vidya Balan that or obviously she hasn’t heard it because over the years with a little bit of trial and error, some heart aches, some heart burns, lots of hard work and may be just a little bit of luck she has become one of Hindi cinemas finest actors and not just that she is one of it's latest big box office draws and that is a cause to celebrate.

In conversation with CNBC-TV18’s special show Beautiful People, Balan sheds a little more inhibitions and talks her heart about hardwork and her new film Kahani.

Here is an edited transcript of her comments. Also watch the accompanying videos for the full show.

Q: I seem to be catching you on these highs in the last two times that we have met.

A: Yes it's been wonderful, it’ better than I could have ever hoped for and thank you for that lovely introduction. It sounds like music and of the best order.

Q: What's the view from the high?

A: I don’t know I am just in a happy space, the view is upwards.

Q: That’s wonderful.

A: Because there is much more to do and I am hoping it only gets better from here. From the last time I was on your show things have gotten better and things are looking up like you said for actresses on the whole. In terms of roles, in terms of just the kind of work that’s happening in Hindi cinema and in terms ofcourse the work that I am getting to do. So yes I am very thrilled.

Q: The Dirty Picture has put you in the Rs 100 crore plus bracket in terms of a movies box office earnings and the fact is that you carried that movie on your shoulders. I am going to be a little crude here, some would say you carried that movie on your chests. If we are women lets say it like that, isn’t it? Why does it have to everybody the shoulders?

A: Yes and why is it wrong?

Q: So is the Hindi film industry ready with projects for a woman who can be a draw at the box office?

A: Firstly I think that this is a great time for Hindi cinema because various kinds of subjects are been experimented with, the roles for women are getting better because we are being humanisd. We are no longer either being glorified or demeaned, there is a mid path.

So you could be a mother, but you could have desires, you could have a life of your own, you could live life on your own terms, you are not just seen as a mother. So the spectrum is definitely widening. But what is very important to keep in mind is that The Dirty Picture was a very entertaining film. It had all the masala, it had all the ingredients, it was engaging and therefore it did the kind of numbers that it did.

Q: But you are saying don’t expect every film to be able to break some new ground either in terms of box office or in terms of the choice of role?

A: Yes, I think the content is definitely getting better because the spectrum is so wide. Today you are being seen as individual who could have a point of view, who could live a life of your own without being apologetic about the choices you make. So it's an amazing time for the Hindi film heroine but I am not saying every film may not make that difference or every film may not do the business that ‘The Dirty Picture' did.