'I am in Bollywood due to Karan Johar but my bestest friend is Shahana'

Enjoy life on a day-to-day basis - this is presently the most popular theme in Bollywood. On similar lines, filmbuffs will get a taste of Cocktail this July with Deepika Padukone, Saif Ali Khan and Diana Penty. Sreya Basu catches up with the Dum Maaro Dum girl in Mumbai on her upcoming release.

You have been paired opposite Saif for the second time. Don’t you think there will be comparisons with Love Aaj Kal?
The minute people see Saif and me together, people still think of Love Aaj Kal (2009 film). But Cocktail is a very, very different film.

Yes of course, Love Aaj Kal maker Imtiaz (Ali) has written this film, but it is Homi Adajania of Being Cyrus fame, who has directed it. This film is a love story but it’s also about friendship, betrayal, fun and trust…so I think, in terms of a film, Cocktail is different.

People are loving the dialogues your character speaks in Cocktail …
The dialogues have been written based on the character (Veronica) that I am playing. She is a very confident girl, someone who is very self-assured…she is very confident about herself, her life, the way she conducts herself.

You have played a wild girl in most of your films. What do you have to say about that?
I don’t think so. I think my role in Love Aaj Kal was not wild at all, in fact it was a different role for me.



Is it true that you were offered both the female leads in Cocktail?
Yes, I was offered both the roles – Veronica and Meera. My producer Dinu (Dinesh Vijan) was kind enough to offer me both the roles and say: “Listen, I have two characters for you. Now it’s up to you to choose which one you want to do.”

And I took it as a challenge and Imtiaz also suggested to me that Meera from Love Aaj Kal is so similar to the other (female) character in Cocktail, that it would be interesting for me to play Veronica.

Are you happy with your choice?
I am glad that I went to that because now that the promos have been released, the response has been fantastic.

I think people are reacting so much as they have never seen play something like this before. I have never looked like this on screen before Cocktail. It was really challenging and I love the way the film and my character have shaped up.



You are always praises for filmmaker Karan Johar. You are also doing his next Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani with Ranbir Kapoor…
When I was doing my first film Om Shanti Om (2007), Farah (Khan, director) and Shah Rukh (Khan, actor) introduced me to Karan (Johar). I remember how warm he was towards me. The kind of encouragement he gave me when I entered the industry was amazing. It is people like Karan who have supported me so much is why I am here today.

Who is your best friend in this industry?
My bestest friend is Shahana Goswami (actor). I keep telling her that we can never plan when friends come to our lives or leave us. But she is one person who in the beginning just happened to be my co-star and before I could know it, we became “bestest” friends. Whenever I return to Mumbai from an outdoor schedule, she is the first person I call.