"My companion can be from any walk of life" - Vidya Balan

With two bumper hits in her kitty Vidya Balan's career is going great guns. Lots of commercial successes. Plenty to smile about. "I was very happy about all my five releases in 2007, though some of them didn't do well. From the very start when Dada (Pradeep Sarkar) showed so much faith in me by giving me Parineeta, the industry has made a substantial space for me. By the grace of God, there're lots of interesting roles happening. I'm in the process of signing some more. Since I came to cinema my criteria for signing a role remains unchanged. I've never been in a hurry to get anywhere. Things are happening at a pace I'm enjoying. And I'm not insecure. Jo hoga achcha hi hoga."

She ponders for a few seconds as kids approach her for her autograph at the airport. Then she says, “I don't regret anything. I'm a hopeless optimist. I feel what I've to go through will happen regardless of how much I fight it."

The industry is looking at Akshay Kumar and Vidya as a hit jodi after Heyy Babyy and Bhool Bhulaiyaa. "I'd love for us to be seen that way. Even Katrina-Akshay look great together. I'd love to work with Akshay again. Yes, we've offers together. He's a great co-star. The icing on the cake is our films together have worked."

In Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Vidya invested demoniacal energy. "Yes, it was a frightening experience. My director Priyadarshan handled the last 20 minutes of the story when I get into a supernatural rage of dance, very intelligently. I love Priyan. He's a man of few words. We even converse in Malayalam."

This year Vidya was supposed to do another film with Priyan. "But there's a problem with the leading man. I'd love to work with Priyan again. I've been fortunate in the fact that directors have signed me more than once."

So is she doing her Heyy Babyy director Sajid Khan's film? "There's been no formal talk on this. Sajid hasn't offered me the role. I've been reading reports that I'm doing the film. Right now, he's writing his next film…I'm lucky to be a part of the movie industry when leading ladies are no longer decorative. It's providential that I started with Parineeta."

She gets sentimental about Pradeep Sarkar. "Staying away from his second film Laaga Chunari Mein Daag was unbearable for me. I want to be part of his next film for sure.

Any hopes for 2008? "Add some spice to my own life and not wait for others to do it for me. I would like love to happen. But I'm not holding my breath for it. Yes, there're times when I get lonely. But most of the time I'm quite happy being with my family and myself."

Unlike Preity Zinta, Vidya has made no pledge to stay away from actors in her personal life. "Some people are doctors, others are actors. My companion can be from any walk of life. If he's an actor we can both carry our own mirrors to the sets and be narcissistic individually .And we can have mirrors all over the house. Instead of looking into each other's eyes, we can look into the mirrors," Vidya jokes and flies off to another destination.

Subash K. Jha