When questioned about her hiatus after "Rudaali" at her career peak, Kapadia said she needed space and that generally her "career has always been secondary" to her. Her infrequent work since then, which manifested in numerous gaps between her screen appearances, has gained her a reputation for being selective about her work. She attributed this to the lack of worthy offers and the "huge effort" expended in film acting, which consumes time otherwise spent on her family and private life. Even so, Kapadia's later work was noted by the scholar Afreen Khan, who listed her among the female actors who represent a changing portrayal of mothers in Hindi films, with roles of women who consider their happiness to be of equal importance to that of their children. Similar thoughts were expressed by "Mumbai Mirror"s Trisha Gupta, who was impressed with Kapadia's diverse repertoire of maternal roles, ranging from "Luck by Chance" (2009) and "Dabangg" (2010) to "Finding Fanny" (2014). Guided by her own judgement, Kapadia normally commits to a project without seeking advice and often willingly works with young or first-time directors, finding their enthusiasm and creativity beneficial to both the film and her performance.