"My character in Acid Factory is very feminine" - Dia Mirza
"I opened my wardrobe and this is what I picked. A black and white dress from a store called 'White and Black' in America. I love their stuff. Their entire store only sells white and black", and there she was, an epitome of goodness with a larger than life smile. So elegantly dressed as always. No attitude pouring down her cheeks. Only her irresistible persona and riveting presence that hits you like a tonne of bricks. We wave at each other even from an arms length, a warm hug got us close which tells, that we both were in for a good ol' session of Q and A again.
Dia, who is disarmingly easygoing comes across as more delicately beautiful and finely featured in her black and white dress than her hundreds of red-carpet photographs. Mirza may be in ultimate ass-kicking mode on the big screen this October with Acid Factory but when we spoke to the ethereally eternal beauty, she looked more like the world's most famous Barbie doll sitting on the barb wire who talked about well dressed men, the lost memory syndrome, her six male co-stars, her walking-the-edge type of roles and how she surprised her producer and director with an unbelievable makeover. Please welcome the all new Dia Mirza - rough, tough and the rugged.
What's
a
beautiful
babe
doing
with
not
so
good
looking
men?
(laughs)
Trying
to
make
them
all
look
good
and
I
think
I've
succeeded
in
doing
that.
The
posters
looks
exciting,
doesn't
it?
You
in
Acid
Factory
remind
me
of
Angelina
Jolie
in
Wanted...
I
think
because
Max,
the
character
I
play
in
the
film
is
a
tough
woman.
She
is
very
feminine
and
sexy
but
at
the
same
time
she
is
strong.
So
I
guess
the
vibe
is
in
the
similar
space.
Any
moment
you
can
recall
of
having
lost
your
memory?
(laughs)
No
but
my
mom
has.
I
was
actually
talking
to
somebody
yesterday
and
she
said
something
really
interesting
to
me.
She
said
that
she
had
lost
her
memory
for
six
hours
after
falling
off
from
a
bus
and
a
police
case
was
filed.
She
had
no
memory
of
her
name,
where
she
was
from,
nothing.
But
when
they
asked
her
to
sign,
she
just
signed
her
name.
And
I
was
like,
'That's
what
the
film
is
all
about.'
When
you
lose
your
memory,
you
don't
lose
yourself.
You
are
still
who
you
were
before
losing
your
memory.
Your
physicality,
characteristics,
intonation,
reaction
and
your
subconscious
remains
the
same,
right?
What's
so
exciting
to
make
a
film
with
no
memory?
That's
the
most
exciting
part.
You've
planted
six
people
in
the
Acid
Factory
who
have
no
memory
and
don't
know
how
and
why
they
got
there.
It's
very
easy
to
play
characters
if
the
plot
is
right.
My
director,
Suparn
Verma,
recalled
a
moment
during
the
making
of
the
film
when
I
asked
him
that
I
didn't
want
to
know
anything
about
Max,
where
she
is
from,
etc.
Usually
I
do
a
character
sketch
for
most
of
my
films.
For
this
one,
I
didn't
want
to
know
anything
because
there
are
certain
plots
and
stories
that
don't
need
that.
Acid
Factory
is
one
such
film.
And
what
do
you
exactly
mean?
I
mean
that
sometimes
situations
are
more
important
than
pretext.
Your
responses
to
what
is
happening
within
that
moment
is
more
important.
There
are
three
things
that
I
needed
to
know.
One
was:
She
was
on
the
wrong
side
of
the
law,
was
unabashed
about
it
and
she
was
an
extremely
confident
woman.
The
story
of
Acid
Factory
is
a
bird's
eye
view.
Somebody
else
is
telling
you
the
story
and
that's
what
makes
it
exciting.
We
hear
a
lot
about
Danny
Denzongpa's
etiquettes?
Is
that
man
on
a
mission?
Yes.
Danny
stands
for
discipline.
He
is
a
class
apart.
That
man
is
so
amazing
to
talk
to.
I
would
just
spend
hours
chatting
with
him
in
between
shots.
I
mean,
these
people
are
carrying
history
with
them.
They've
been
around
for
so
many
years.
They've
worked
with
all
kinds
of
filmmakers
and
so
many
actors.
I
also
found
out
that
he
has
a
brewery
in
Sikkim
and
he
actually
makes
beer.
He
goes
off
into
the
hills
and
lives
most
of
the
time
there.
He
has
got
a
beautiful
home
in
Juhu.
He
has
got
a
gorgeous
son
who
is
studying
in
London
and
he
is
a
kind
of
man
who
doesn't
work
post
six
in
the
evening.
He
follows
certain
norms
by
which
he
lives
all
his
life.
He
wakes
up
at
six
in
the
morning
and
goes
for
a
swim.
He
swims
for
about
forty
five
minutes
and
is
fit
as
a
fiddle.
He
is
an
institution
and
it's
really
unfortunate
that
people
don't
give
them
their
due
credit.
I
think
my
generation
hardly
knows
him
but
they
should.
Go
on
then,
don't
stop.
What
about
Manoj
Bajpai?
I've
worked
with
Manoj
Bajpai
in
Dus
Kahaniyaan.
He
is
super
fun
and
is
actually
quite
a
brat.
People
think
that
Bajpai
has
this
really
serious
image
about
him
but
he
can
be
really
funny
and
can
get
naughty
sometimes.
He
is
the
one
who
is
thinking
like
-
Whose
arm
am
I
going
to
twist
today
and
who
am
I
going
to
bully
today
(laughs).
Four
more
to
go
-
Dino,
Aftab,
Fardeen
Irrfan...
Dino
is
again
somebody
with
whom
I've
worked
with
before.
He
is
a
wonderful
person.
Dino
is
too
nice
actually.
Aftab
is
a
bit
of
a
loner.
He
usually
keeps
to
himself
because
after
pack
up
we
never
really
saw
him.
We
only
heard
his
music
(laughs).
That's
the
way
he
is
made.
Nobody
was
offended
by
it
but
of
course,
we
ragged
him
for
not
making
it
to
all
the
after
parties
(laughs).
Fardeen
is
one
of
the
most
well
read,
dignified
and
charming
man
I
know.
He
is
so
under
rated.
And
Irrfan
has
of
course
proclaimed
to
the
world
what
he
is
all
about
and
we
have
accepted
it.
Irrfan
is
also
an
institution.
There
is
one
more.
One
who
is
fit
to
be
a
princess
-
Dia
Mirza.
She
has
worked
so
damn
hard
(laughs).
To
train
is
one
thing.
We
all
work
hard
but
I
think
after
I
read
the
script
of
Acid
Factory,
I
understood
that
I
had
to
work
three
hundred
times
harder
on
this
one.
It
was
very
important
to
see
her
strength
exude
in
even
a
frame
of
a
photograph
where
she
is
just
standing
next
to
so
many
men.
And
because
she
had
to
be
on
par
with
them,
she
had
to
reflect
that
strength.
I
had
to
do
an
am-pm
workout
with
my
trainer
Rakesh
Udyar.
He
was
nothing
short
of
being
a
Hitler.
I
used
to
train
for
two
hours
in
the
morning,
two
hours
in
the
evening,
go
all
the
way
to
Film
City
at
five
in
the
morning
to
train
with
Tinu
Varma
for
the
action
sequences
for
three
hours,
drive
back
and
hit
the
gym,
go
back
home,
catch
a
nap,
wake
up,
run
back
to
the
gym
again
and
phew!
It
was
tough
but
I
enjoyed
it
because
I
discovered
new
levels
of
strength
that
I
never
ever
thought
I
had.
I
was
lifting
weights,
running
distances,
etc.
It
was
a
huge
self
realisation.
What's
your
prerogative
while
you
do
a
film
then?
It's
very
simple.
It
has
to
be
convincing
and
natural.
I
don't
want
people
to
come
out
of
the
theatre
and
say
-
What
a
body
she
had!
I
want
them
to
come
out
and
say
-
Wow
man!
She
is
solid
and
is
a
strong
chic.
She
could
stand
her
ground.
She
didn't
look
like
a
misfit.
That's
what
I
want.
Will
a
film
like
Acid
Factory
question
the
intelligence
of
the
audience?
Not
at
all.
People
will
love
it.
I
think
I
am
a
fairly
intelligent
person.
I've
seen
the
film
and
I
loved
it.
I
didn't
have
a
problem
with
anything.
I
hate
when
people
say
that
it's
an
action
film.
Yes,
action
is
a
part
of
the
film
but
the
film
is
about
the
plot
and
what
these
guys
are
doing
in
the
factory.
You've
been
a
part
of
many
Sanjay
Gupta
films
off
late.
Yeah
but
Sanjay
Gupta
didn't
even
see
me
for
Acid
Factory.
He
didn't
even
think
of
me
for
the
film.
Sanjay
has
always
seen
me
as
a
sensitive,
petite,
demur
person
and
he
has
always
cast
me
in
parts
like
that.
Sanjay
never
perceives
me
as
aggressive.
He
thinks
that
I
am
just
a
sweet
little
girl
who's
just
going
to
take
all
the
sh**
in
the
world
and
never
complaint
about
it,
and
I
do
that
(laughs).
But
that
does
not
mean
there
is
another
side
to
me
that
I'm
willing
to
explore.
If
you
are
an
actor
and
cannot
essay
different
parts,
then
why
are
you
acting?
I
had
to
beg
to
be
cast
in
this
film.
I
threatened
them
with
dire
consequences
(laughs).
Just
kidding.
I
secretly
worked
out,
came
to
Mumbai,
went
to
his
office,
met
with
him
and
the
director.
Suparn
was
floored
by
my
enthusiasm
and
commitment.
And
you
did
a
screen
test?
I
told
Sanjay
and
Suparn
that
I'll
do
a
screen
test
and
whatever
it
takes
to
land
this
role
in
Acid
Factory.
In
fact,
very
few
actors
in
Bollywood
do
a
screen
test.
I
believe
that
screen
test
is
a
must
to
convince
your
director
that
you
can
do
your
part
well,
that
you
are
fit
for
the
role.
But
they
didn't
get
me
to
do
a
screen
test.
We
did
a
photo
shoot
instead.
You
are
so
very
creative.
Yes
and
you
have
to
be.
You'll
understand
when
I
say
that
it
is
very
vital
to
be
surrounded
by
people
who
are
as
enthused
by
what
you're
doing
as
you
are.
Suparn,
the
director
got
flattered
by
the
same
enthusiasm.