Neha Dhupia speaks on her films
By:
Reshma
S
Kulkarni
Monday,
April
02,
2007
From being recognized only as a hot bimbette to now getting roles like those in Ek Chaalis Ki Last Local and Delhii Heights that seek to bring out the actress in her, Neha Dhupia has made a steady progress in filmdom, a fact that she is very happy about, as she confesses in this taste-ae-taste:
From
dare-bare
skin-flicks
like
Julie
and
Sheesha
to
sombre,
real
roles
like
those
in
Delhii
Heights
and
Ek
Chaalis
Ki
Last
Local
-
how
would
you
evaluate
the
journey?
It's
been
a
satisfactory
journey
so
far.
Even
though
I
started
out
with
bold
roles
like
those
in
Julie,
I
do
not
regret
them
at
all.
That
is
how
most
actresses
begin
their
journey,
in
varying
degrees.
And
irrespective
of
the
flak
that
I
had
received
at
that
time,
I'm
proud
of
every
project
that
I
have
done
till
date.
I
am
happy
with
the
way
filmmakers
believed
that
I
was
going
from
strength
to
strength
so
as
to
offer
me
projects,
each
better
and
different
from
the
other,
be
it
a
demure
lover
in
Qayamat
or
a
psychiatrist
in
Kya
Kool
Hain
Hum
to
now,
these
films.
But
are
you
now
consciously
making
an
effort
to
move
towards
deglamorous
or
real-kind
of
roles
as
it
seems
from
the
kind
of
films
you
are
doing
now?
Not
really.
Like
I
said,
it's
the
film-makers
who
are
discovering
enough
potential
in
me
to
offer
me
such
kind
of
roles.
It
is
not
as
if
I
have
decided
to
become
a
prude
who
will
not
do
bold
roles
henceforth.
Nothing
of
that
sort!
I'm
an
actress
looking
at
doing
a
variety
of
stuff;
I
won't
reject
something
just
because
it
requires
me
to
expose.
Only
thing
is
that
the
exposure
should
be
relevant
to
the
story
and
not
merely
for
public
titillation.
So,
it's
not
a
conscious
move
or
anything!
I'm
just
accepting
stuff
that
sounds
interesting
and
novel
to
me.
Tell
us
about
your
characters
in
Ek
Chaalis...
and
Delhii
Heights
In
Delhii
Heights,
I'm
playing
a
modern,
career-oriented
girl
called
Suhana
who
is
trying
to
seek
a
balance
between
her
personal
life
and
professional
ambitions.
I
identify
with
Suhana
to
a
large
extent
in
terms
of
her
Delhi
background,
her
views
about
life
etc.
and
hence
the
film
is
quite
close
to
my
heart.
As
for
Ek
Chaalis...
in
that
I'm
playing
Madhu,
a
call-centre
executive
who
misses
the
last
local
train
to
her
home
and
gets
stuck
with
Nilesh,
a
young
man
who
faces
the
similar
predicament.
Circumstances
bring
them
into
a
strange
situation,
which
is
what
the
film
is
all
about.
This
role
was
diametrically
opposite
Suhana's,
in
terms
of
the
look,
accent,
et
al!
I
had
to
work
a
lot
to
cultivate
the
Bambaiyya
accent
especially!
Which
do
you
find
more
challenging
to
play
-
the
larger-than-life
roles
or
the
real
ones
like
you
are
presently
doing?
The
real
ones
are
more
difficult
to
play
because
you
can't
mess
around
with
reality.
It's
a
tough
job
to
convince
the
audience
when
you
are
playing
real
characters.
But
what
made
you
take
up
a
totally
dismal
project
like
Nehle
Pe
Dehla?
Actually,
it
is
not
my
project
at
all,
although
the
publicity
has
been
done
in
that
way.
I
am
in
the
film
only
for
one
song
and
that
too,
I
accepted
due
to
some
personal
equations
that
I
share
with
the
makers.
You
also
have
two
more
interesting
projects
in
the
pipeline.
Tell
us
about
them.
Oh
yes.
I
am
playing
Sanjay
Dutt's
wife
in
Apoorva
Lakhia's
Shootout
at
Lokhandwala
and
am
paired
with
none
other
than
Naseeruddin
Shah
in
Rajat
Kapoor's
Mithya.
I
was
very
nervous
about
doing
these
roles
initially
but
both
my
co-stars
were
such
great
supports
that
I
just
can't
explain.
I
remember,
after
the
first
shot
for
Shootout...
where
I
had
to
berate
Sanjay,
I
kept
on
apologizing
to
him
for
screaming
at
him
and
the
sweetheart
that
he
is,
Sanju
kept
on
telling
me
'Don't
be
silly;
it
was
a
fantastic
shot!
You
have
recently
shifted
into
a
new
house.
How
does
it
feel
to
be
a
proud
owner
of
your
first
house?
It's
an
indescribable
feeling
-
somewhat
akin
to
becoming
a
mother
for
the
first
time!
I
am
absolutely
in
love
with
my
house
which
is
done
up
in
a
minimalistic
manner,
completely
in
white!
We
have
so
much
of
colour
around
us
while
shooting,
that
it
feels
like
one
has
gone
to
heaven
when
one
steps
into
the
serene,
white
havens
of
my
home.
Now,
I
can't
wait
to
rush
home
from
the
shoots
everyday.
Is
this
new
house,
any
indication
of
you
planning
to
settle
down
with
'good
friend'
Ritwik
Bhattacharya?
Oh
no!
Not
again
please!
It's
really
not
funny
anymore.
We
have
been
childhood
buddies
for
eleven
years
and
hence
are
very
fond
of
each
other
and
love
to
be
in
each
other's
company.
But
our
relationship
is
utterly
platonic.
Earlier,
we
used
to
laugh
these
gossips
off
but
when,
the
other
day
after
reading
a
newspaper
report,
my
parents
begun
asking
me
to
come
clean
about
our
relationship,
that
was
when
I
decided
that
I've
had
enough!
Once
and
for
all,
I'm
not
seeing
Ritwik.
I'm
yet
to
find
the
right
guy
to
get
married
to;
and
also,
I
have
just
about
begun
a
positive
phase
in
my
career.
Marriage
is
nowhere
on
my
scheme
of
things
for
the
next
three-four
years
at
least.