Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput go house-hunting
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; March 17, 2017)

Sipping a cup of hot chai in her vanity van, Vidya Balan, who used to be insomniac at one point, says sleep is sacrosanct for her. Almost as much as her need for space.

"That's the quintessential aspect that made me instantly identify with Begum Jaan (the titular character of her eponymous upcoming film). I ferociously guard my space. There are times when I retreat and be all by myself," says the actress.

Vidya, however, admits celebrities are hardly allowed that much space. "I understand people wanting a little bit of us all the time. It's an overwhelming feeling."

Ask her about the time when her frequent hospital visits — Vidya recently battled health problems — sparked pregnancy rumours and she says, "It was annoying. I could be going to a clinic for an acne too! Why is it that every time a woman, post marriage, visits a doctor, there are whispers of her pregnancy?"

She labels incessant prying into her personal space "blasphemous" and "ridiculous". "I don't think it's anyone's business except mine and my husband's (producer Siddharth Roy Kapur). It was a serious invasion on our privacy, but our country is such. Neighbours and relatives [constantly] ask us (unnecessary questions). The day I got married, one of my uncles told me at the wedding venue, 'Next time I see you [her and Siddharth], I should be looking at three people, not two'. This was even before our wedding pictures could be clicked. I politely laughed because we hadn't even decided on our honeymoon destination then.

"What is this baby obsession? I am not a baby-making machine. Anyway, the world population is on a rise. If some people don't have children, it's fine," she says.