Vidya Balan, 34, went from being applauded and appreciated to a sudden low but now that she is on a high again there is no sense of vindication, just a quiet contentment. She says that she is far more accepting of herself today than she once was which is perhaps reflected around her - she can soothe large angry crowds just as easily as turn a bunch of journalists into fans. People who attend celebrity events and interview film stars every day clamor to have their picture taken with her on their mobile phones after endless hours of waiting. And she graciously obliges, every single one.

Q. Sujoy Ghosh had two failed movies before he came to you with Kahaani. Why did you take it?
When Balki came to me with Paa I had Heyy Baby and Kismat Konnection behind me. Sujoy came to me with a script I didn't want to do but he told me he would keep coming to me till I said yes. I thought he wouldn't come back but he did, again and again. This idea I liked. He has put things together well this time.

Q. You effectively did crowd management on your own when shooting in Kolkata. The Kahaani team would step back and let you calm the crowds.
A. Security tends to be very harsh but if you are nice to the people then they are very sweet. I love people and enjoy talking to them. All I had to do was request them to let us shoot.

Q. What did you draw on when playing a pregnant woman?
A. Being a woman and a mother comes easily (Silk was more difficult to do and took a lot from me). I remember taking the local train from VT to Chembur in my college days with a gang of friends. There were usually many pregnant women on the train and we used to copy them, so in a way I had already practised it.

Q. How do you look back at Silk?
A. I had asked Milan (Luthria) will people say ye ladki pagal ho gayi hai (this girl has gone mad). While many people were very encouraging I had an equal number of people telling me not to sign The Dirty Picture. But to be honest I was more scared for Ishqiya as that was the first time I was out of my comfort zone. And after making the movie Milan told me why he had wanted me in the movie - he thought I would bring respectability to sleaze. I wish he had said that to me before, I would have given a better performance.

Q. What's your frame of mind now?
A. Happy. Peaceful. I have become unapologetic about being myself. People probably think I don't breathe the same air, at least that's the kind of reaction I get.

Q. Have you reached a 'now what' phase?
A. The proportion of success has been humongous but people asked me that even after Paa and after No One Killed Jessica. I don't worry about these things. If I am to get a film, I will.

Q. What was especially difficult to accept about yourself?
A. That I am passionately sensitive, about everything from someone being sensitive and caring and loving to someone being rude or nasty to me or to anyone else. Also, to stop expecting my body to be anything but the way it is.

Q. Do you have any personal goals for this year?
A. If you are going to ask me whether I'm going to get married, the answer is no. I don't have the energy to get married. I want to spend time at home, sleep, read. I take one day at a time. I am not someone to define my goals.