The Finicky Girl

You could have played the field after Ghajini but instead chose to limit yourself to London Dreams.
I don’t believe in the philosophy that one should make hay while the sun shines. I choose films carefully — I look at the character,director,producers and the co-artists. I want to do films that will help me grow and learn,irrespective of whether it is Tamil,Telugu or Hindi. None of the films I was offered was interesting enough. And since I am not in this profession for financial reasons,I have the freedom to wait it out. I chose London Dreams because it is a hardcore commercial film by Vipul Shah who has an excellent track record.

Your character Priya in London Dreams is a simple homely girl in front of her parents and an extrovert outside. Do you have an adventurous streak?
Each one of us displays such streaks,especially in school and college days,and I am no exception. I’ve done the usual — act nice in front of teachers and get mischievous outside the class. Youth festivals in Kerala are a huge affair and since I was the school captain,I would participate regularly. And every time there was a class test I wanted to skip,I would ask my juniors to call me for practice sessions. The teachers would let me go and my classmates would give me jealous looks. But I never compromised on studies and was the topper in Class 12 boards.

You could have experimented with your look as rocker-chic. Why did you play it safe?
I go with my director’s decision but,personally,I love to experiment. I’ve been wanting to go bald for a while now. But somehow people don’t offer me those kind of roles.

How would you describe your co-stars Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan?
Ajay is a mixed bag. I thought he would be the brooding and intense guy he plays in films but he has a lighter side to him. Salman is chilled out. Even when rumours about our affair were doing the rounds,he would go about unperturbed and instead comfort me.