Acouple of years back in the same corporate office of Yash Raj Films, Parineeti Chopra was coordinating interviews for other stars as the PR consultant of the production house. Now she sits in the same room to give interviews to the media. In one of the most radical role reversals around, the Ishaqzaade girl is now on the wish- list of the biggest of filmmakers in Bollywood. But if you are to believe the spunky 24-year-old, she fears unemployment! What else makes Parineeti pareshaan? t2 played quizmaster. Read on...

It must be eerie sitting here and giving interviews as a movie star in the same office you used to work as a PR?

Of course, it’s a complete change! Never in my life did I think I would be an actor. Now that it has happened, it does feel nice. Because I am doing it for a job which I absolutely love now. I have grown to enjoy acting so, so much. So, it feels very nice but it is also scary because you don’t know what the longevity of things are. They change with every film.

As a triple honours graduate from Manchester Business School, what was your take on Bollywood and acting in Hindi films before you got into it?

I actually looked down upon it! I always thought that actors have very superficial jobs. All they need to do is dress up, look nice, say a few dialogues and go home and make lots of money. Till today, my parents, who are not associated with the industry, think about me in the same way. And that’s okay. But once I joined YRF and started working here, I realised what actors do in front of the camera is something everybody can’t do. Respect aside, the love for the profession bloomed.

You wanted to be an investment banker. So, everything that you had learnt in business, finance and economics, has it come to any use at all in your job as a Bollywood actress?

Never! Apart from my own account now, which I pretend to be all savvy about. But there’s no point because by the time I get free to do anything, the banks are shut. So, now I have my own CA in place who does everything. But yes, at some point if I get bored of acting or I don’t get work, I have my degree to fall back upon.

Come on, Parineeti Chopra is now a star! Everyone wants to cast you, every brand wants to sign you...

Actually, I don’t think I am a star at all. I think it comes with too many years in the profession. It will be absolutely stupid if I think or say I am a star. According to me, a star is a person who can’t walk on the streets. Salman Khan, for me, is a star. An Amitabh Bachchan, who has probably not walked the streets of Juhu in the last 50 years... that, to me, is a star. If I am successful for the next 15-20 years... that’s when you become a star. I am okay if I don’t reach that level. But I don’t want to be unemployed ever. It’s a catch-22. I want to keep doing films and I can only keep doing films if people keep liking me. I always want to be busy. I don’t want to be sitting at home. So, I am not working keeping in mind that I have to become a star.

Maneesh Sharma launched you in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. And now you are in his next, Shuddh Desi Romance...

Well, I wanted to work with Maneesh again. Because everything I am today is because of him. And if I was ever asked to make a list of screenwriters I would like to work with, Jaideep (Sahni) would definitely be number one. When I heard the film, I was so surprised. I thought it would be another happy romcom funny film but it was just so real, just so new. It’s so gutsy, so non-conformist, not your song-and-dance routine film. I would have been very jealous if someone else had done it.

What’s your character like?

She (Gayatri) is a girl who has seen it all... boyfriends, relationships, life, tragedies, everything. And she’s all of 24. Now she comes across this boy who she falls for. And he does the usual ‘I love you’ number on her and she is like, ‘Don’t waste my time; I have already seen all of this!’ She’s a very soft-spoken, sensible girl. It was very hard for me to get that thehrav in the scenes and to even talk softly, you know! Yes, volume was an issue for me.

The film has got to do with the confusion which comes with new-age romance. Where every Bollywood film ends — ‘I love you’ or marriage — that’s where our film starts. It’s about the fact that once the ‘I love you’ happens, then what happens? Do you get attracted to other people? Are you constantly questioning the person you are with? Do you have fidelity issues? Do you struggle with the new habits? You suddenly find there’s a smoker in the house. You are sharing grocery bills. There’s pre-marital sex involved. Is it with the right person? Is it out of love? All the confusion that comes with a new relationship in today’s India is the film.

What is your personal stance on the matter?

To each his own, really! I mean I am very much single. I don’t have anybody in my life. But if there was somebody, I don’t know how I would have behaved. If I were absolutely in love with somebody I might not have ever questioned him. If I was just trying out someone, maybe then. Then there’s the issue of pre-marital sex. I am not married to the person, so am I doing the right thing? If pre-marital sex happens anyway, I might as well live with him. But if I live with him, my parents won’t be happy. So, I don’t know what my stance on this is. It will depend on the situation.

Sushant Singh Rajput finds you an excellent reactive co-star. Do you feel likewise for him?

I have even more brilliant things to say about him. His approach towards a scene is very similar to mine. We break down every word we are saying in a scene. Why we are saying it? We would always look at our character graphs. We would always look at the bigger picture. The director is god for us. Our styles are very similar. I am never afraid to be spontaneous in front of the camera because I know he will just react. I am not even 50 per cent of what he is when he gets into a character. He just becomes that person. Well, he’s terribly quiet and that for me is a major issue because I talk so much. (Laughs out loud)

Debutante Vaani Kapoor is where you were a couple of years back. Did you advise her on the sets?

When I used to look at Vaani on the sets of the film, it was like deja vu, like nostalgia! Because I was going through the exact same thing with the exact same director with the exact same production house. It was a very nice feeling to see her. Many times when Maneesh used to get angry, I would go and tell her not to stress and this is what he is looking for. So, it was fun. I think she has great screen presence and doesn’t come across as a newcomer at all. My gut says she will be very successful.

After only working with YRF, now you are venturing out and working with other production houses. That must feel like being away from home...

It’s like going to boarding school! (Laughs out loud) No, it’s nice because the other production houses I am working with are not the old-school huge production houses. Dharma, Phantom... everyone’s young and cool and are like people at YRF. So, I didn’t get a culture shock. But it does feel a little strange working with new faces. Because here I even know the light boys.

What’s coming up?

There’s Hasee Toh Phasee (with Sidharth Malhotra) with Dharma-Phantom. That will be my next release, which I have finished filming. Then I go on to Habib Faisal’s (Ishaqzaade) next with Aditya Roy Kapur. Then there’s Shaad Ali’s Kill Dil (with Ranveer Singh and Ali Zafar).