In an industry which stereotypes actors easily, Vidya Balan, who has essayed a variety of roles, says she is very selfish as an actor and she only works for herself.
The actress has charted herself a different trajectory with her film choices be it 'Paa', 'Ishqiya', 'No One Killed Jessica', 'The Dirty Picture' or 'Kahaani'.
"I only work for myself. If I like something, I don't think about what people are going to say or whether the story is 'different' enough. I am very selfish, I don't think of anything but what I want to do," Vidya told PTI in an interview.
Her last two films 'Ghanchakkar', a comedy, and 'Shaadi Ke Side Effects', a romantic comedy, did not work well at the box office and interestingly she was not the central protagonist.
Vidya, however, says she was too close to these two projects to know exactly what went wrong.
"It is sad that two of my films did not work. 'Shaadi...' was a very regular role. If the film had worked people would not have minded. The film did not work so they are saying probably it was not different. It is flattering but I can't restrict myself to a type. I can't play central protagonist in all my films."
It is an hard-earned wisdom for Vidya, who was once at the receiving end of critics be it her films, her life or the sartorial choices.
"It was in 2007 when I was being badgered for everything. Whatever I did, someone or the other had something to say. I realised that if I was going to let my happiness depend on other people's approval then I would keep trying for the rest of my life.
"I also realised that there is one person whose happiness is in my control and that is me. I started living according to what made me happy and it has changed my life."
In her latest release 'Bobby Jasoos', Vidya plays an earnest 30-something aspiring detective in Hyderabad.
Happy with the initial response to the film, which has been produced by her 'Parineeta' co-star Dia Mirza and Sahil Sanga, she is hoping the film does better through word-of-mouth publicity.
