?I was never worried about being categorised as an item girl. I did it purely out of choice and for fun,? says Shamita Shetty; (left) with sister Shilpa Shetty

Being Shilpa Shetty?s sister, was it a natural progression towards acting?

I never really wanted to be an actress. I wanted to be a fashion designer and was, in fact, doing a diploma course. But when the course was nearing completion, I felt I wasn?t ready to take up fashion designing in a big way. I was very confused at that point of time. I was also getting all kinds of film offers. Then again, being a very private and shy person, I wasn?t sure that I could perform in front of people. Finally, I joined the acting classes of Kishore Namit Kapoor. I liked the whole experience and then the Mohabbatein offer came from Yash Raj. Since I have always loved their movies, I said yes.

You must have got offers after Mohabbatein. Why did you completely disappear from the scene?

Mohabbatein was a great experience. The offers that came after that were not up to the mark. I always wanted to do quality work and not be wasted in the industry. I did do a film named Agnipankh which fared badly at the box-office but I got to play a different character ? that of an air force pilot. There were always lots of offers coming in. I was aware that out of sight meant out of mind but I still decided to wait.

Then why did you do item numbers like Sharara sharara and Chori se chori?

Adi (Aditya Chopra) is a friend. I knew he would always present me well. When Adi came with Sharara sharara for Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai, I had to do it. I couldn?t say no to him or his production house. At that point of time, I had no idea about the future. I did it for fun. The same holds true for the Saathiya song. I was never worried about being categorised as an item dancer. But I did have to answer a lot of questions as to why I was doing item numbers. It was not that I had forgotten acting. I have always felt that you have to be an all-rounder to be a good heroine and dancing was definitely a part of the package.

And Zeher was what you were waiting for?

Absolutely. I would have never got Zeher had I done those bad films that I was being offered. It was very important to be associated with good banners. I would say my patience did pay off. I didn?t even do the loads of item numbers I was offered after Sharara. The Zeher thing happened in hours. I have always liked the way the Bhatts portray women in their films. I went and met Mukesh Bhatt at his office in the morning and by evening he had offered me the role and in two days I was off to Goa for the Zeher shooting.

Did you feel left out when it was all Udita in the promos?

Not at all. At the end of the day when people went to the theatres to watch the movie they knew? The promos were entirely the producers? marketing strategy. As an artiste I did my job. And let me tell you the Bhatts have been very fair to me. Whatever had been narrated to me at the script level did come on the screen. And the response to my acting has been very good. I have received a lot of appreciation within the industry.

Now, you are doing Fareb with your sister?

I was a little apprehensive at first when Deepak Tijori offered me the role. Both Shilpa and I have always wanted to work together in a project but when Deepak first narrated the script to me, I was not happy with my character. Then, he came back to me having made changes to my character, which suited me perfectly. And I signed the film instinctively.

What was it like sharing screen space with Shilpa?

It was great fun. We got to spend a lot of time on the sets. In real life, Shilpa and I are so different from each other. She?s been in the industry all these years. She?s learnt from her mistakes and wherever she?s reached has been solely on her own merit. I must hand it to her. I have often looked up to her.

What after Fareb?

I am doing Rokra co-starring Arshad Warsi, Ashmit Patel and Irrfan. It?s being directed by Ramesh Katkar, who was assistant to Ram Gopal Varma.

So no more sharara sharara?

Nothing like that. I always maintain never say never. I would definitely do item songs if I like something. But I would like to do more acting roles. People now know that I can act.