8216;I Love Cows8217;

Mumbai Se Aaaya Mera Dost has you playing a village girl. Have you ever roughed it out in a rural area?I spent my first few years in Ghaziab...

Mumbai Se Aaaya Mera Dost has you playing a village girl. Have you ever roughed it out in a rural area?
I spent my first few years in Ghaziabad near Delhi but that8217;s about as rustic as it gets for me. I once tried to draw water from a well and nearly fell in. I8217;m in awe of village women because of the amount of physical labour they do. Years of working out in a gym won8217;t give you that kind of strength.

If you had to live in the sticks and you could take three things, what would they be?
Smiles. It8217;s funny because I grew up wanting to be a farmer. All I wanted as a kid was to have a hut in the middle of a field and a few cows. As reality set in I realised that I8217;d have to settle with running a dairy. I love cows. They8217;re so meek and useful. But if had to take three things they8217;d be: a portable loo 8217;cause I refuse to go in the wild, a pair of Doc Maartens and deodorant.

They say you8217;re among the hottest dancers in Bollywood. Have you studied belly dancing?
No, but I have learnt Bharat Natyam and am learning Kathak. As far as film dancing is concerned, you learn as you go along. The thing is I8217;m confident and comfortable with my sexuality. I8217;m doing an item number in Raj Kumar Santoshi8217;s Khakee, and am looking forward to doing more.

You seem to be very busy these days. Has work taken its toll on your relationship?
Kelly and I are both understanding people. We both have our goals and are doing everything we need to meet them. It8217;s just a question of prioritising.

So what8217;s coming up for Lara?
I8217;ve just about wrapped up shooting for E Nivas8217;s thriller Bardash with Bobby Deol, where I play a criminal lawyer. Then there8217;s Boney Kapoor8217;s out and out comedy No Entry where I8217;m Anil Kapoor8217;s young wife. Madhur Bhandarkar8217;s Aan is a realistic, gritty film that explores the private lives of policemen. Akshay Kumar8217;s a cop and I8217;m his fiancee.

You seem to have your hands full. Is it because you are comfortable with cleavage?
It8217;s because I work very hard. Also, years of endorsing every product under the sun has made me extremely confident.

A few years ago it was widely reported that you were dating two of America8217;s biggest sportsmen: Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter and Tiger Woods.
Smiles. There was a time after Miss Universe when all the sports writers in America were in love with me. It was only coincidence that Derek and I were sitting next to each other at that basketball game. I8217;ve done charity events with both, and they8217;re normal, fun-loving guys. It probably helped that I didn8217;t know much about baseball or golf.

Do men find you intimidating?
I8217;m a vocal person but I8217;m not aggressive. I8217;m actually quite reserved and take time to open up to people. Sometimes people interpret that as being aloof or standoffish. Yet most of my friends are men.

Why is that?
Like men, I see things black or white8212;no grey. With men there8217;s no melodrama and rationalising. They just deal with a situation and move on. Men are essentially simple: when they8217;re hungry they say so 8212; and you have to respect that.

Che Kurrien