Picture: Pabitra Das, Make-up: Nabin Das, Styling: Sandy

You pose bare back in a poster for Streetlight (picture below), which releases this Friday. What’s the scene all about?

That’s a flashback scene. I play Mitali, a wife and a mother, in the film. In this scene, Mitali’s husband (Abhishek Chatterjee) writes something on her back and asks her to figure out what it is. It’s a happy moment in the couple’s life.... Mitali used to be a theatre actress but she sacrificed her career to make her marriage work. Yet she finds her marriage falling apart and so she decides to try her luck in Bollywood. But failing to keep up with the rat race there, she comes back.

You too got into films post-marriage. Is Streetlight your story in a way?

No, not at all. Mitali is certainly not me. I may have got married at a very early age and joined films after that but I had my husband’s support, though my in-laws were against my decision. And I did not return home a failure like Mitali, neither has my husband ever been suspicious about my erratic work hours. Ours is a very transparent relationship. Before my husband can ask me why I am late, I tell him the reason. Besides, I have always lived a very independent life and my husband respects it.

See, in every marriage the husband takes an upper hand; the wife cannot question the husband but he will always question her! I have accepted living with these little things. I know friends and colleagues who go through problems because of their acting careers. But sacrificing a career for a better domestic life isn’t fair.

Is it more difficult to get a foothold in films if one is married and a mother?

It’s not difficult to get a foothold but marriage and motherhood make it far more challenging. I sometimes tell my mother that I wish I wasn’t married, then I wouldn’t have cared about the world. I would work, attend late-night parties and come back home. Not that I don’t do all these but I have to balance work and home, like sometimes I have to rush back home quickly from a party because my son is waiting to have dinner with me. The responsibilities get divided.

You have lost a lot of weight. What did you do?

I was training under fitness instructor Ranadeep Moitra but now I scarcely get the time to hit the gym. I have maintained my toned look just by eating small meals every two hours.

Is there a body part you would like to change?

Yes, I want to put on some weight on my thighs! They are too thin. But the rest I am quite happy with. I will never go under the knife or try Botox. I prefer to be natural.

Of late you’ve been sporting a lot of off-shoulder dresses...

I have a beautiful wardrobe. I used to buy a lot of off-shoulder dresses but I didn’t have the body to wear them. Now after losing weight, I am more confident. But short dresses don’t suit me, so I steer clear of them.

Are you game for dare-bare scenes and skin show now?

I am very comfortable. I am totally inhibition-free.

One bold scene from a Bolly/Tolly film you’ve liked...

I loved Jism (John Abraham-Bipasha Basu). It’s a very sensuous film, and both sensuality and sexuality were handled with a lot of aesthetics. Bipasha did not appear vulgar in any of the bold scenes. For a bold Tolly film, I would choose Cha-E-Chhuti where I played a lesbian. My character had to kiss a girl (Dona) and I think that was the only bold scene in the film that established my character as a lesbian. It was beautifully shot.

What do you play in your next release Ogo Bideshini?

I play an obsessive lover... obsessed about her childhood friend (Abhishek Chatterjee). I go crazy when he refuses to marry me. Tapas Pal plays my elder brother.