Vidya Balan visits women's shelter in Dubai

Gulf News

Vidya Balan visits women's shelter in Dubai. Vidya Balan talks about National Awards for films, her movie Kahaani and visits Dubai Foundation for Women and Children to comfort women who are victims of abuse.See more at: http://gulfnews.com/gntv

Transcript

00:00For the past two years, I'd been getting calls on the day the national awards were

00:07due to be announced and people would tell me, oh, you know, the award is yours and blah

00:12blah blah.

00:13So this year around when they said it, I didn't believe them.

00:17I said I'm not going to until it happens.

00:19And then I got a message.

00:21So I called my family and my mom was in tears.

00:26I'm overjoyed, really.

00:28I feel blessed for having the courage to take up these unconventional roles, for getting

00:35the opportunity to really portray women in a different light each time, to express Shakti

00:44in a different way each time.

00:46But I think that's the order of the day because that's the reality of women today.

00:51And cinema is a reflection of reality.

00:53So that's what you get.

00:54I've been brought up in an environment where I've never been aware of gender and I've never

01:02seen my femininity or my womanhood as a disadvantage.

01:06I've been taught to believe that, you know, my, like I said, Sri Shakti, my femininity,

01:12my womanhood is my biggest strength.

01:14So I've always celebrated it.

01:16A woman is a woman's biggest strength and she should fall back on that innate strength

01:21that is unique to a woman.

01:23I'm sure it's not easy to erase any kind of abuse and it's probably easier for me to

01:29be sitting here and saying that.

01:31But having said that, I think we need to move on.

01:35We need to decide that we're not going to let anything be a disadvantage and create

01:41obstacles.

01:42I think it is, it's more than a leveler, it's a reality check.

01:45Of course, one is aware of what's happening in the world, but you do not get the opportunity

01:50to meet with victims of any kind of exploitation or abuse.

01:55I'm a bit overwhelmed actually.

01:57I must say that this has left me rather moved because I've not come so close to, or face

02:05to face with something like this.

02:07It's shocking that people engage in human trafficking.

02:11That's something that, crime is something I've never ever understood, but human trafficking

02:16is the worst of its sort.

02:18And yet what's incredible is that, especially on the eve of Women's Day, I'd like to say

02:23that my salute to these two girls that I interacted with and to all the other girls at the foundation

02:31and to millions all over the world who've not let their circumstances overpower them.

02:38Instead they've overcome what could have been their biggest handicap or their disadvantage.

02:46It takes a lot of courage to step out of that situation and to try and get out of the situation

02:53calls for, I don't know what, I guess it's divine intervention and God bless them with

03:01greater strength.

03:02We are happy today to have her here.

03:05Her visit to the foundation will have a good impact on the foundation itself because a

03:10lot of people will look at the profile of the foundation.

03:14The foundation is a shelter that gives services to everybody who's in the United Arab Emirates,

03:19cases of domestic violence and child abuse and human trafficking cases.

03:23Hi, this is Vidya Balan wishing all the readers of Gulf News a very happy Women's Day.

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