After initially being mocked for her appearance and fashion sense, Actor Vidya Balan in a recent interview with an Indian daily opened up about being ‘sidelined’ from films with A-listers.

Vidya told in an interview, “At some point, I felt I’m not being considered for mainstream A-lister superstar films. But I was enjoying the content and being the whole and soul of a film so much that I did choose this over that. But look at it, Mission Mangal has happened and it’s not just a romantic lead. It’s a prominent role and this is how I’d like it anyway.”

She had worked with Salman Khan Khan and Amitabh Bachchan earlier in her career. 

However, ever since she featured in Ishqiya alongside Naseeruddin Shah and Arshad Warsi in 2010, Vidya appeared in films with comparatively smaller budgets.

It was not before last year’s Mission Mangal that she featured with an A list male actor. Based on India’s mission to Mars, the film was headline by Akshay Kumar and had five female actors - including Vidya - in prominent roles.

The actor is set to star in the biopic of renowned mathematician, Shakuntala Devi. The film also stars Sanya Malhotra and Jisshu Sengupta with Anu Menon as director.