‘I don’t like to show the chinks in my armour’

Her father also introduced her to singing,the other love of her life with acting. She credits him as the inspiration behind her singing career. “The first time I ever sang on a stage was when I was three years old. My dad had organised a musical event at the Army Wives Association charity function. I sang an African nursery rhyme,which my nana (maternal grandfather) had taught me to learn vowels. I sang A-E-I-O-U on the stage and everybody clapped,” she says.

The 31-year-old actor-singer is upbeat about Exotic wherein she has collaborated with rapper Pitbull. “The song has got three million hits in three days. I’m overwhelmed. I’ve been working on the album,In My City,for two and a half years. This is a new turf for me. With this album,I wanted to show the world that India is a lot more than just a country of snake charmers and elephants,” she says. The idea behind Exotic came from international music producer RedOne,who has worked with the likes of Jennifer Lopez,Lady Gaga and Cher. “RedOne was looking for a word to describe me and came up with ‘exotic’. So he wrote the song and I added some Hindi lines as I felt the music piece was a bit incomplete,” she says.

While Exotic is climbing the chartbusters list,it has got its fair share of criticism especially in the form of internet trolling. Chopra has come in for criticism for her Jennifer Lopez hangover particularly with regards the nude coloured shimmer outfit that she sports in the music video. Chopra dismisses it with a,“I don’t want to be known as a ‘me too.’ It was never my intention to look like anyone. There are six other outfits that I’ve worn which nobody has worn before,but everyone is just picking on this one. In fact,this outfit was a last-minute thing,” she says.

With social media and oversharing at its peak,celebrities have to learn to take criticism on the chin. Chopra,who has a huge twitter presence,is aware of it but she admits it’s not easy to take the hate. “I’m aware that I put myself out there to be judged because I hardly stick to the norm. The extreme reactions are a price you pay for being open and creative,” she says.

It’s a powerpacked year for Chopra. She has four releases lined up — DisneyToon Studio’s Planes (which is a spin off of Pixar’s Cars and where Chopra has voiced the character of an aircraft called Ishani),Zanjeer,Krrish 3 and Gunday. Quiz her on how she packs it all in and she quips,“I love life. I want to try my hand at everything. I’m not a dreamer. I’m a realist. I believe if you work hard today then your tomorrow is taken care of,” she says.