Rhea Chakraborty poses for the t2 camera outside Soho on Sarat Bose Road. Picture: B. Halder

She’s half-Bengali and she loves to eat and shop. MTV VJ-turned-Bollywood actress Rhea Chakraborty — the leading lady of films like Mere Dad Ki Maruti and Sonali Cable — made Calcutta her home for a week from October 26 to November 3, shooting Babbu Ki Jawani, a romcom, opposite TV heart-throb Karan Wahi. t2 caught up with Rhea in her vanity van on Friday afternoon while she was shooting at Soho, the lounge bar on Sarat Bose Road.

Being half-Bengali, your roots lie in Calcutta. What are your memories of coming to the city as a child?

My nickname is Mishti... I am named after mishti doi! (Laughs) I have been coming to Calcutta over the years. I have lived here for sometime as a child and I used to attend a playschool near New Market... I can’t remember its name. My dad was posted in Barrackpore for a while. My dad is Bengali and my mom is Konkani.

For me, Calcutta has a lot of good memories. I love the place and the people. There is one consistent thing about the city that people here don’t change. In Mumbai and Delhi, people don’t have time for anybody else. In Calcutta, if you ask any dada for directions, he will make you sit in his car and take you and say, ‘Cholo cholo… aami aaschhi’. The food is amazing here and the vibe is chilled- out. Even if things get hectic, they say: ‘Ho jaayega didi aaram se’.

How often do you visit Calcutta these days?

I last came here to attend a friend’s wedding early this year. I love coming to Calcutta. I don’t put on weight, as my metabolic rate is really high. This is the only place where I put on weight even if I am here for just two days! I am a Bengali and so I love food. It’s in my blood. My jethudadu lives here. My dad and uncle own apartments in Calcutta. I have many friends and relatives here.

How has it been shooting for Babbu Ki Jawani in Calcutta?

The director (Amritpal Singh Bindra) is obsessed with the city. There is so much to shoot and show here. Calcutta has a lot of character with old British structures, hand-pulled rickshaws, trams… it is fascinating. It is the only city that cannot be replicated anywhere else.

You must be enjoying the food here...

I am staying at The Oberoi Grand and eating only Bengali food like hilsa jhol, maachher jhal and posto. I love egg rolls. We had jhaal muri and aloo kabli one day. I pack egg rolls and take back home to Mumbai (smiles).

And you’ve also been shopping a lot between shoots...

Oh, New Market! There is Chamba Lama... I am obsessed with silver jewellery. This time I am staying close to New Market, but I don’t have the time. If I get two hours, I would rather give that to my jethudadu. I have not managed to meet anyone so far. My mom is calling everyday and telling me to meet my relatives.

What do you play in Babbu Ki Jawani?

I can’t divulge much... but it’s a kick-ass character! It’s damn interesting. We have shot at Victoria Memorial, Eden Gardens, New Market, Lake Place....

You are the female lead in Yash Raj’s Bank Chor. How has it been sharing screen space with Riteish Deshmukh and Vivek Oberoi?

I am playing a Bengali girl called Gayatri Ganguly who calls herself Gaga! She is a news reporter. She is a pretty girl who is often not taken seriously and gets told to take up lifestyle reporting. She is mad! It’s a very quirky out-and-out comedy.

Riteish’s comic timing is fabulous. I learnt a lot from him. He can switch off and switch on. He becomes a different guy once he comes in front of the camera. It is always nice to shoot with YRF... it seems like it’s my home production (Mere Dad Ki Maruti was also produced by YRF). Vivek also helped me. Both showed me a lot of videos that helped. We will work for another month to finish the film. I have signed another big film but I can’t talk about it right now (smiles).

Your recent release Sonali Cable sank. You must have been very disappointed...

Honestly, whatever feedback I have got on Twitter and what people have told me, they found it to be a different kind of film. It’s a film I am proud of, but I have to move on. I am happy with my work. Sonali Cable is a film that I would show to my kids.

In March, you had lodged a police complaint against a man who tried to grope you in a Mumbai elevator. What has been your biggest learning from that incident?

After that incident, I took up lessons in Krav-Maga (Israeli self-defence system) and mixed martial arts. Right now, I can take down six guys double my size! Girls should empower themselves and be strong enough to protect themselves. I want to soon start a campaign... all women should become Hercules! (Laughs)

Who are your friends in Bollywood?

Anushka Sharma and Aditya Roy Kapoor. I also know Ranbir Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor and Saqib Saleem very well. Varun Dhawan is also very sweet. I am on good terms with whoever I have worked with. We never discuss films. We discuss life and what we had for lunch! (Smiles)

You are very active on the social network...

I am there on Facebook and Twitter, but not on Instagram yet. Twitter is a great platform to directly reach my 20,000 followers. That incident (the molestation in the elevator) came out in the open because I tweeted about it. It is great, especially for young people to say what they feel like. Even NaMo (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is on Twitter. You can talk to your PM... it is damn cool!