After "hating" her body for a long time, actor Vidya Balan has learnt to "accept" her body and shut down the external voices which bring negativity to her life. However, there still are moments, like the one she had recently with her masseuse who commented on her body weight, which upset her. In an interview with lifestyle coach Luke Coutinho, Vidya shared her coping mechanism when it comes to negativity on social media and in real life. She said, "I've learned to protect myself over time. For example, I will not read comments on social media. For a while, I had disabled comments. Now, people can comment, but I very rarely go through comments." The actor said that by reading comments, she doesn't want any negative comment to "stick" with her. Comparing it with astrology, the actor added, "I don't go to astrologers because if that person says one thing that you're going to go through a tough time or this is not going to work out, you're going to latch on to that. I feel it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't read the newspapers. That's how I protect myself." When it comes to real life, Vidya Balan avoids people who make her feel uncomfortable. "If I feel in my interaction with someone that I'm not feeling very comfortable, that person is trying to pull me down, then I keep a distance. That choice is mine. I can't change you. I can't change the way you react. But I can change how I respond," shared the Kahaani actor. Vidya has developed this positive approach after years of "agonising" as she shared that she was criticised a lot, especially for her body. And, all the criticism got to her head and she "spent a lifetime hating my body". But now, she is "accepting" of her body the way it is. However, there are some instances when she gets upset with all the attention on her body weight. She shared how a masseuse commented on her body weight recently, leaving her in tears. The actor narrated, "I was getting a body massage done. And this woman tells me, 'Arey phir se weight put on kar liya kya? (Did you put on weight again?)' Firstly, it's a very intimate space. I trusted the masseuse to get my body massage done. I'm not here for her to sit and judge my body. I am here so that she can actually calm my nerves, like make me feel better." Vidya made it clear to the lady that she didn't have the right to comment on her body. "I said, 'Mere body ke baare mein comment mat keejiye, mujhe achha nahi lagta (Don't comment on my body, I don't like it)." Though the actor shut the lady, she was "distraught" as she wondered, "What gives her the authority or the right to say something like that to me." The actor was so affected by the incident that when she met her husband, Siddharth Roy Kapur, she cried. "When I saw Sidharth, I actually cried for a bit. I was like, 'Why do people have to do this? Why did she have to say this to me? It's insensitive,'" shared Vidya Balan, while adding, "I just couldn't wrap my head around it. Because I've had a very hectic week, I was exhausted. I was looking forward to this massage. And within the first 10 minutes, this happened. Then I just couldn't relax. And therefore, when I came out and met Siddharth, I think that pent-up, whatever, just came out." Vidya Balan said that she doesn't mind feeling weak for a moment because she believes that even confident beings like herself can also have moments that get to them. She said that it was "human" for her to feel the way she did.
