Vidya Balan says she is 'scared' of talking about politics, reveals she does not donate for religious structures

Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan, like many actors today, is wary of commenting on matters of politics. The actor fears getting banned even though such an incident has not happened to her. She also spoke about the polarisation in the country and the world and her take on religion in a recent interview.

In an interview with Unfiltered with Samdish, actress Vidya Balan said that she would not like to talk about politics. Elaborating on her reason for the same, she said, "Politics se bohot darr lagta hai, phir humko ban-van kardege toh… It hasn't happened with me, thankfully, but now actors have are wary about talking about politics because you don't know who will get offended. Especially around the release of a film, it is the work of 200 people at stake, so I just say keep me away from politics."

When asked if she has seen this fear of talking about politics right from the beginning of her career, she said that it was not the case earlier. "This has been happening because of social media, people take offense over everything. They give their input even on matters they don't know much about. So it's best to zip your mouth and keep working," she added.

Further when asked if she feels that nation has become more polarised in terms of religion. "I feel we are definitely more polarised. As a nation, we did not have a religious identity before but now I don't know why… It's not just politics, it is also social media, because we are all lost in this world and looking for an identity, which we don't have organically, we are looking for things to attach ourselves to.

"So, everything has become… Whether it is religion or this wokeness, with people saying, ‘This is who I am,' but you don't know who you are! Which is why you are going, looking for these things. We all need a sense of belonging and in this world, with the proliferation of social media, we are lonelier than ever. At a very superficial level, we are attaching ourselves to ideas and concepts conveniently… The world is polarised today, it is not just one country."

Vidya also said that despite being a deeply spiritual person she said that she never donates to people asking for funds to build a religious structure. She said that she would rather give her funds to areas involving healthcare, sanitation, and education.

When asked which areas she would work on from a philanthropy point of view, she said, "Health, sanitation and education. If someone asks me for donation to build a religious structure, it can be anything, I never donate. I say if you are building a hospital, a school or a toilet, I will happily contribute. But not to anymore religious institutions.