MUMBAI: She loves children and the prospect of motherhood, but Vidya Balan insists she’s not ready for marriage

I want to get married first, but I’m not ready yet because I still haven’t found that someone,” says Vidya. However, the actress admits that shooting for Paa has taught her some things about herself. “At first, I was sceptical about taking up this role because kids are usually wary around me. I was also a bit apprehensive about playing a mother to a 13-year-old. But my brother-in-law told me that I’d never get the opportunity to act in a film like this again. So, I took it up. Once I did the film, my maternal instincts were awakened,” explains Vidya.

Once again, Vidya has had to deal with reports about the sizzling on-screen chemistry she shares with her co-stars. This time, it’s Abhishek Bachchan in Paa and Arshad Warsi in Ishqiya. “When I’m doing a scene, the only thing on my mind is how I can do justice to the role. And I may have put so much life into the scenes that people start believing that there’s something brewing between my co-stars and me,” she says.

Then, of course, there are the comments about her dress sense, which has been called everything from “atrocious” to “pitiable”. But she says things have changed. “For my next film, I’m wearing outfits designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, who understands my personality. He dresses a character and this is the reason I could carry off his clothes comfortably,” says Vidya.

We also hear that the actress has a Kollywood connection in National Award-winning Priya Mani. The two are reportedly distant cousins. “I’ve never met her, but I got to know that she’s an actress and I’ll soon watch her films,” she says. Vidya herself would have been a southern star, but things didn’t work out. “I wanted to do south films, but the films either got shelved or I wasn’t selected for them. I still hope to do a south film, but only one that has a strong script,” she wraps up.