Every person has their share of turning points and I have had many in my life. Both my parents were doctors in Ludhiana, in Punjab, where I lived a life of an out-and-out tomboy. I would spend most of my time playing and picking up the choicest abuses.

My parents soon packed me off to live with my aunt in Delhi where I was pampered to the hilt.

One of life’s major turning points came pretty early. When I was just seven my father passed away. I decided to go back to stay with my mother. It was then that, for the first time, my mother raised her hand on me — I was being lazy and refused to do my own work. I learnt my lesson, and from then on we became really close.

Career-wise, my biggest turning point was getting selected for a Stardust talent contest. I was in the middle of some examinations and was reading Stardust to take a break. That’s where I saw the competition form, filled it, got selected and went on to represent India in Japan in an acting and dancing competition. Moving to Mumbai to look for work in films was also significant for me. My first big break was a role in the film adaptation of Khushwant Singh’s Train to Pakistan when I was 18. That was when people began taking me seriously as an actor. Then in 1999 I got a role in Shaheed-E-Mohabbat, set in the post-Partition era. This earned me a National Award nomination.

It had been a dream to work with the Yash Raj banner but I was reluctant when Aditya Chopra offered me the role of Preity Zinta’s friend in Veer-Zaara. But he convinced me that I’d be remembered for this role. And true enough, I got my first commercial success with this film. Soon I was flooded with offers of similar roles but I said no.

Among my upcoming movies are Subhash Ghai’s Hello Darling, Anup Das’ Life Express where I play a surrogate mother, and Hiss — a Hollywood flick opposite Irrfan Khan. I don’t want to limit myself to any one particular role and try to fit myself into all kinds of characters.

(As told to Lubna Salim)