'Was Told, I Should Know How to Cook': Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan speaks about being discriminated because of her gender.

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From body image issues to the biases women face everyday because of their gender, Vidya Balan has been vocal about a lot of issues. Now, in an interview with Times Now Digital, Vidya recalled an incident that she had to face.

"I remember people telling me over a dinner that ‘Oh my god, you don’t know how to cook’". To which Vidya responded, "‘No, both Siddharth (Roy Kapur) and I don’t know how to cook'".

Vidya told the publication that the people in question then said that she "should know how to cook". “I wanted to say, why should it be any different for Sidharth and me?” she added.

The actor, who is gearing up for Sherni, said that we all tend to judge each other, however, “it is sharper, when it comes to women”.

Speaking to The Quint, too, Vidya Balan had said that up until Shakuntala Devi, almost every director had asked her to lose weight. "People don't understand why I keep saying 'Please don't touch-up my body'. They feel everyone wants to be thinner and you are not even thin by conventional standards. But people love me the way I am, so why would I want to change anything?"

Vidya continued, "Up until Shakuntala every director would ask me, 'Can you lose weight?' I would say that if I could lose weight I would have, but there are some challenges. I have always asked directors to cast other actors if they feel I wouldn't fit into the character because of my appearance. But Anu Menon is the first director who didn't have the conversation with me".