Face off with Laila Rouass

Well, the occupational hazards are worth it — the burnt child loves the fire. "To find out where your talents lie, you have to explore different avenues. You may not be good at all but at least you have experienced more." And she insists everything is related in some way or the other — it all comes under the Arts. She even adds painting to the list — not on the canvas, mind you, but on the walls of her room.

There is a sound reason for her affair with the roller and paint can — her room is a bedevilled cesspool of paper, paraphernalia, artefacts and what-have-yous, a labyrinth no one else dare enter. "But I know where everything is and that’s enough!" Incidentally, her room is also where her heart is. She spends most of her time there — serene amid the chaos — drawing shopping lists! "I am house proud and get excited when I think of buying furniture, curtains, food or whatever for the house."

She claims she is an introvert and is not into the dance and pub scene. The music is too loud and not her kind. "I like hip-hop and funk and there aren’t pubs which play that kind of music." There are limits to what she will dabble in, after all! Not quite. Don’t rub your eyes in disbelief when you hear that Laila is planning to design clothes and start a fashion boutique!

No. Fashion does not inspire her and her opinions on it will give hiccups to even the least venerated designer. "Fashion is a big joke and you should not be taken in by models and magazines. You feel like laughing at what was considered fashionable 20 years back."

Seems unlikely. Her clothes are not about cuts and fits, but about attitude, comfort and staying cool. "You don’t have to be a size eight to feel good. You can be size 16 and still carry yourself off as long as you believe you are the best thing on this planet."

Hold your breath, for it is none other than Mohammad Ali! In fact, she insists that no entertainer deserves to be on a pedestal. Rather, that halo should be reserved for reformers — people who create a difference, not dreams.

LI> Now isn’t she going overboard with the paint job again? She may be a big boxing fan, but to paint Mohammad Ali as a reformer?

"He made black people beautiful and proud of what they are. For the black man in the ’60s to say that he loves his black people was a difficult thing to do." And that is not all. She likes, nay, loves Ali because he refused to take part in the Vietnam war, a stand for which he lost his boxing title. "And when he was asked if he misses boxing, he replied, `No, boxing misses me.’" She also thinks that even though the idea of two people slugging it out may appear aggressive, boxing is one of the most graceful sports.

All those souped-up special-effects Hollywood flicks are strictly no-no for her. Instead, she loves watching European films which have adequate budgets for all the razzmatazz. "They explore people. That is what drama is all about — finding out what makes humans tick, cry and laugh." Well, there is a lot of drama in store for her in the English film Unico Senso, directed by Aditya Bhattacharya. Slated for release in March, Laila plays a half Pakistani who goes to Italy, only to fall in love with an Italian.

No. This is a love story about love stories. There is no plot — just an exploration of the ego tussles, mind games and barriers that frame and mar the picture postcard hues of love. "You may think you have found the perfect match, but when it hits in the face, you start questioning things. The mind is curious, but also insecure. No one wants to lose control of their emotions or the situation."

"The project had been in the making for over seven years and I was pretty sure I would screw it up because of my insecurities about my acting."

Not a chance in a million. Laila thinks the quality of most Hindi movies is pathetic. But if Kamal Sidhu can bear it, why can’t she? "Kamal had to keep learning the words over and over in her head. It is admirable to go through the whole movie and not speak the language!" But surely language should not be a barrier. Even if Laila can’t speak Hindi, cannot someone else dub for her? "No way! Half of acting is speech. A dubbed movie sounds utter crap and not something I would ever do."

"Modelling is very competitive in the West and Asians are used only for products with Asian overtones. You could model for a rice product but not for make-up products." Also, you can’t be a big-timer merely because you are beautiful. "There are a million others who look better. But here it is often enough as we have a stereotype of what is beautiful."

"You know what I mean?"

"Yes!" To what? No, Laila, for once, we don’t know what you mean!