SWEET & SOUR

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 all the co-artistes. I want to do films that will help me grow and learn,irrespective of whether it is Tamil,Telegu 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’s a hardcore commercial film by Vipul Shah who has an excellent track record.

Your character Priya in London Dreams plays a simple homely girl in front of her parents and rocker-chic outside. Do you have such an adventurous streak?
Each one of us displays such streak,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 class. The youth festivals in Kerala are a huge affair and since I was the school captain,I would participate regularly. But in class,every time there was a test announced that I wanted to skip,I would ask my juniors to call me for the practices. The teachers too 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. This is some of the milder stuff I can share.

As a part of a music band,you could have experimented with your look. Why did you play it safe instead?
Priya’s look was conceived by Vipul,the stylist Ashley Rebello and the make-up artiste from London. I go with my director’s decision but personally,I love to experiment. I’ve been wanting to go bald for a while now. People perceive me as a simple girl and don’t offer me such roles.

How would you describe your co-stars Ajay Devgn (as he spells his name now) and Salman Khan in one word?
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 the rumours about our affair were doing the rounds,he would go about unperturbed and instead comfort me.

How much does moving into your own apartment mean to you?
It’s odd that the media made such a big deal of it. If you are with your parents,they accuse them of being overprotective. If you move out,they say you are asserting your independence. I bought this house because it’s a good deal and close to our first house.

When one is living with parents they end up taking care of most of the things but this way I get to learn to manage things on my own. And since they live close by,I can have them around when I need them. So it is freedom with collateral around.