According to me, the most stylish person in Bollywood is none other than Sushmita Sen. I have grown up in awe of her since I was in school.

I had trained in Hindustani classical singing and my mother thought I could become a playback singer, but I always wanted to become an actor.

I have been fortunate that my commercials became famous and the best directors have managed to work on my terms. I didn't have to chase anyone.

I won't say I'm tired of playing the sweet girl next-door who looks at life each day with wide-eyed wonder. But I do crave for a change of image.

Well, I was never a 'gadget girl.' But in the last few years, the Blackberry and the iPad have changed my life or rather have become a part of my life.

Cinema is a slice of reality. You have school and college kids being intimate and marriage is not even in question and that is what they show in cinema.

I had been offered other shows, before 'Meri Awaaz...' but honestly, the very thought of long and grueling working hours of TV shows gave me a cold feet.

I have always been very choosy. I am very particular about banners and filmmakers. Everything has to be top-of-the-line; I have never compromised on that.

I have been trained for three years in Hindustani classical music. I keep humming and many Bollywood co-stars have been victimized by my relentless singing.

Though I was into modeling and extracurricular activities in my school days at C.G. High School in Mumbai, I never thought of making it big someday in a film-industry.

It would not be fair to choose one between them, as I am equally addicted to both the iPad and the Blackberry. In fact, there are times when I am simply hooked to both.

If 'Satyagrah' was supposed to be my last film I would look back and say it was a happy portfolio. But there is a feeling that I wish I could have done something better.

When it comes to viewer's choice, each film counts. Moreover, it's important to enjoy the work that I do. Thus, it is important that I am excited about the films I sign.

I feel so proud of being able to vote for the first time. I keep looking at the black mark on my finger proudly. For years I envied that tell-tale mark on my parents' finger.

In cinema, you have a captive audience, but to grab the attention of a housewife, who is in the middle of her household work and to keep them gripped to you, is a huge challenge.

While we are originally from Mangalore, my grandfather had migrated to Burma from where he returned to join the Indian National Army and settled in Mumbai, where I was born and brought up.

For me fitness is not about fighting fat or aiming thinness, it is about having the stamina and physical energy to keep up with my professional demands and day to day requirements of life.

For one thing, vegetarians are, on average, fitter and trimmer than meat-eaters are, so the best thing that young people who want to look their best can do is to keep meat off their plates.

It is unintentional that I will do less films, it just happened that way. Like in 2000, I had a line of films signed but it all went for a toss. The films never got made... It just happens.

It was work as well as play while shooting for 'Ishq Vishq' in South Africa. What made the trip more enjoyable was our energetic and fun-loving director Ken Ghosh, who hung out with the cast a lot.

Since my childhood, I was that girl who would walk into a movie hall starry-eyed having this hunch that I will be there and can do this though I did not have the guts to share my feeling with my parents.

I do not see myself exposing and revealing. If there is a requirement for an item song or a special appearance song I might do it... if it is in the capacity of the film, if it is comfortable and suits me.

There was a time when the industry would typecast actors. It still continues to an extent on the celluloid but with the digital medium coming to the fore, the actors are finding equal status with the stars.

I was still in school when I heard about this audition for this fairness cream ad. I got selected and subsequently, did a lot of ads and I got noticed by Ramesh Taurani and Ken Ghosh and 'Ishq Vishk' happened.

Constant romance with my laptop through the day is a must for me, whether I am using it to send emails or just google something, which I do quite often, as I love to keep myself well-informed with my Blackberry.

In 2010 I had signed three big banner films with actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Tabu, Arjun Rampal. Directors like Ken Ghosh, Bela Bhansali signed me and I had got my signing amounts but those films did not take off at all.

Once a fan did something really sweet for me. He came all the way from Nasik and literally lived outside my house from morning to night. When the security guard and my driver told me about this, I invited him to Film City and he was so happy.

While pursuing my Bachelors with Psychology in Sophia College, I auditioned for an advertisement for Fairever Face Cream. And to my surprise I was selected amongst the top contestant, which paved a way for me to take this profession sincerely.

As the cinema is changing, on-screen kissing, love-making scenes are becoming part of the narrative. I am not saying it is wrong, because it is the reflection of how our society has changed and become comfortable with it. But I am uncomfortable performing it on screen.

Before I go to bed I clean my face with a cleansing milk and cotton pads and then wash my face thoroughly with a foamy face wash. I apply a calamine lotion on my face and a medicated moisturizer on my face and neck. I repeat the same procedure after I wake up in the morning.

When I debut on television with 'Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai,' there were a lot of things that I experienced as an actor and felt that one could get into more nuances in terms of characterization. At the end of it, I wept non-stop for 15 minutes to get out of that character. It was that kind of emotional bond.

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