Thursday,
June
01,
2006
Mumbai
(UNI):
Bollywood
actor
Dia
Mirza,
who
is
the
latest
heroine
to
join
the
'item
girl'
bandwagon
in
the
forthcoming
film
Phir
Hera
Pheri'
says
playing
lead
roles
is
no
longer
important.
Speaking
to
mediapersons
here,
Dia
said,
''
It
is
no
longer
important
to
do
hero-heroine
roles
as
the
emphasis
today
is
more
on
strong
characters''.
She
elaborates:
''
The
emphasis
is
more
on
character
and
I
am
excited
to
be
a
part
of
this
kind
of
cinema.
For
example
if
a
star
has
ample
reels
to
himself
he
can
prove
his/her
mettle.
The
real
challenge
comes
when
the
star
has
to
prove
himself
by
sharing
the
cinema
space
with
his
co-stars.
That
is
why
'Parineeta'
is
so
important
to
me
because
I
proved
myself
in
the
short
span
of
space
in
the
film.''
Speaking
about
her
item
number
in
Phir
Hera
Pheri,
Dia
says
she
is
doing
an
item
number,
Pyaar
Ki
Chatni
which
is
a
'lavni'
choreographed
by
ace
choreographer
Ganesh
Hegde.
''There
is
a
certain
amount
of
sensuality
involved,
but
it
is
not
a
raunchy
number.
You
can
compare
it
to
a
Madhuri
Dixit
number
which
is
Indian
but
not
sexy.
It
is
not
in
your
face.''
She
further
states,
''When
I
was
told
the
choreographer
was
Ganesh
Hegde
my
reaction
was,
'My
God'.
I
am
not
a
trained
dancer,
though
I
am
currently
learning
hip-hop,
funk,
ballet
and
modern
dance.'
Being
a
true
Sagittarian,
her
other
passion
besides
acting
includes
painting,
reading,
horse
riding,
swimming
and
writing.
Ask
her
about
her
passion
for
writing,
she
says
she
writes
a
1,200
word
column
for
the
daily
Hindustan
Times.
''For
the
first
time,
I
understood
the
meaning
of
the
word
'deadline'.
Come
Friday
and
I
start
getting
butterflies
in
my
stomach,'' says
Dia.
She
says
her
articles
are
read
because
she
speaks
from
personal
experience
and
her
articles
are
always
backed
with
research.
An
issue
she
feels
very
strongly
about
is
suicide.
She
has
written
a
column
on
this
issue
too.
Getting
back
to
films,
she
says,
her
forthcoming
films
are
Familywala
with
Arjun
Rampal
and
Paresh
Rawal,
Honeymoon
Travels
and
Munnabhai's
second
innings.
Dia
says,
''I
do
stuff
I
am
comfortable
with
.
For
somebody
who
is
not
from
the
industry
it
takes
time
to
break
into
camps.''
Her
favourite
films
are,
Rangeela
which
she
calls
a
romantic
comedy',
Hera
Pheri,
Munnabhai
MBBS',
Familywala,
Masoom,
Lagaan,
Tehzeeb,
Parineeta,
Tumsa
Nahi
Dekha
and
Alag
where
she
stars
with
a
new
boy
Akshay
Kapoor.
The
film
is
about
Akshay
who
is
stuck
in
the
basement
for
18
years
and
when
he
comes
out
the
way
he
reacts
to
people
and
vice-versa.
But
the
film
that
established
her
as
an
artiste
she
says,
was
Tehzeeb.
The
film
got
her
rave
reviews
both
from
the
national
and
international
media.
''If
you
see
my
films
be
it
Rehna
Hai
Tere
Dil
Mein,
or
Dus
or
any
other,
there
are
variety
of
roles
in
each
of
my
films.
There
is
growth
and
change.
I
hate
to
be
consistent''.
The
former
beauty
queen
feels
modelling
and
beauty
pageants
are
not
a
front
door
entry
into
Bollywood.
If
that
were
the
case,
thousands
of
aspirants
would
have
made
it.
There
would
have
been
many
model-turned-actors.
But
you
know,
its
not
the
case.
''After
I
won
the
crown,
I
knew
that
five
years
down
the
line
I
would
be
a
Bollywood
actor.
My
attitude
was,
''Let
me
try
and
regret
it
later,
than
not
try
at
all
and
regret
it
for
the
rest
of
my
life.''