Vidya Balan has earned many adjectives in her career but the actor says she does not want anything to define her. The actor, who made her film debut at the age of 26, says she kept hearing that female stars had a short shelf life, a discussion that has, thankfully, become redundant with time. "Change was underway and I became the face of that change because I was at the right moment at the right place... The age of 26 is normally the age when actors were packing their bags, getting married and settling down. When I entered I was like, 'Will my career be for few years?' And people would tell me that the career span of an actress is very short. I was like, I want to act all my life.

I am 40 today and it's been 14 years and the going is good. It is because of the self belief. My career will last until I am alive. There will be roles for me at every point of time as long as I want it to happen. I have always been the most important person in my life so I was okay playing hero on-screen," Vidya said in a group interview. The actor, who has pushed the female narrative forward with hits such as "Parineeta", "Paa", "Ishqiya", "No One Killed Jessica", "Kahaani" and "Tumhari Sulu", among many others, says looking back, she can never pinpoint the moment of change in her career other than the desire to do good roles.