Q:Are you happy with the headway you?ve made in two years?

I feel I?ve just begun. I know I won?t be given that many chances because I don?t come from a filmy khaandaan. I?ve a much shorter time to prove myself. Everyone wants to be on the top. So do I. But for me it?s more for the love of acting. I?m learning on the job. I?m trying to figure out what kind of an actress I am. I never did any film thinking it would be a blockbuster. I just looked at how much of challenge each film would be as an actress. Mumbai Se Aaya Mera Dost or Bardasht?it taught me what I can and cannot do. Now I know what kind of cinema I want to do.

If you look back at the actresses of the past like Nutan, Sridevi or Madhuri, people just kept coming back to see their films. They had such a long shelf-life. Today trends are changing so fast. Everyone clamoured to see Julie. But no one wanted to see Sheesha. Suddenly the skin thing is no longer in. I?m watching and learning. I think my career starts this year. I?ve become picky. Jurm will reflect that. This year I?ve signed only one film, Dosti with Bobby Deol.

Q:Dosti also has Kareena?

Yeah. She plays a more Indian character while I?m more Westernised. On the other hand, in No Entry I?m out and out Indian. A loud Punjabi wife like Tabu in Biwi No.1. Then in Soham Shah?s Kaal, I?m paired with Vivek. Actually, Ajay Devgan has the role in Kaal that people will talk about.

Q:You?re happy about Jurm?

After Andaaz it?s my first full-length role where I?m not just there for effect. It wasn?t easy for me to play Bobby Deol?s wife. The director Vikram Bhatt?s female protagonists are never uni-dimensional. There?s always an element of mystery to them. I liked portaying enigma. My character has a past tense, and a present imperfect. She gets murdered.

Q:Then we don?t want to see.

You have to! I am there throughout?unlike Vikram Bhatt?s Elaan, which had little of me. But it was always meant to be a slick actioner. The focus wasn?t on the performances. Jurm is a performance-oriented film. All of us ? Bobby, Gul Panag, Milind Soman and me ? have a lot of scope to make an impact.

Q:You and Priyanka Chopra have had a parallel career. Do you think she made better choices?

At the end of the day everyone has her own priorities. I?ve known her since she became Miss India. I look at her and admire her today. Right along, she knew she wanted to be at the top. I?m very ambitious, too. But I?m a different person. I?ve never had anyone to guide me in Bollywood. I?m extremely self-willed. Priyanka?s priorities are different. But they have worked for her. There?s truly no malice between us. We?re both doing what we believe in.

Q:At the same time both of you are eligible for identical projects?

True. There are very few good projects for heroines. And for sure each one of us has the right to fight to get the best roles. Everyone wants to be successful. Still I wouldn?t say I wish I had done Priayanka?s role in Aitraaz. But I?d love to work with Abbas-Mustan.

Q:But it?s a dream role. You don?t have any of those?

I agree. Some of my career decisions are disastrous. Insan was a big mistake. And I?m sorry for doing it. I stepped into it with eyes wide open and still fell on my face. I had struck a rapport with Rajkumar Santoshi after my item song (Aisa jadoo) in Khakee. I did Insan purely because Raj was the producer. And there were Ajay Devgan and Akshay Kumar?so I wasn?t wrong in expecting a certain calibre. But things went terribly wrong. Lots of changes, and all the girls got a raw deal. The saddest part is, people who believe in me felt let down. I couldn?t deal with that. But like I said, I had no knowledge of how the industry operates.

Q:Do you think there has been unnecessary body exposure, as far you?re concerned?

I?d agree with that. In the industry intelligence can be a disadvantage. Sometimes you just need to turn the intelligence level off and kind of go with the flow. From Andaaz onwards people have been talking about my skimpy clothes, etc. But I?ve been Miss Universe, I?m 5ft-7in. tall, I can look good in a skirt or jeans, I?m comfortable with all kinds of clothes.

Q:But we?re talking about lack of clothes.

I know. There was this whole trend whereby skin is in. After two years in Bollywood I feel women are used here as showpieces. Today I know how far I can go without being made to look vulgar on screen. I wouldn?t wear a bikini. I don?t want to do the skin thing any more. I squirm when I see how some of my scenes were shot. Now I need to be more assertive about these things.

Q:Your one abiding passion?

You mean besides my man Kelly Dorji? Shoes. I own hundreds of them. Everywhere I go I somehow manage to leave a pair in the hotel as my calling card. In fact, I carry so many of them I lose count. For a three-day shoot I?m known to take as many as 15 pairs of shoes. Hopefully, I won?t grow old and be known as a little old lady who collects shoes.