Neha Dhupia breaking away from 'sex symbol' tag

Actress Neha Dhupia, who is all set to release her latest movie Pappu Can't Dance Saala, was pigeon-holed for her bold roles at the beginning of her career due to her sensual role in the controversial movie Julie. But the Bollywood star is now happy that she is breaking away from the 'sex symbol' tag gradually. Neha started receiving many Bollywood offers after winning the 'Miss India' title.

Initially, Neha Dhupia decided to opt for south movies before making her Bollywood debut with Harry Baweja's Qayamat: City Under Threat. The movie did averagely well at the box office. She rose to popularity with her bold role of a sex worker in Julie (2004).

In 2005, Sheesha saw Neha Dhupia portraying a double role with Sonu Sood playing the love interest for one of the sisters, while the other one simply lusts after him. In this movie, Neha had a number of intimate love making scenes with Sonu. She created a lot of buzz with her bold approach and thereafter was tagged as a sex symbol.

In an interview with the PTI, Neha Dhupia said, "I am going to admit that I have had a very strong image in the past which I have been trying to break out… or come out and that is only because of choice of films. I remember there was a point when everyone used to say that I have been known as a sex symbol, I am happy people don't ask me about sex symbol image anymore."

However, after being a part of the industry for almost eight years now, she has done performance-oriented roles in films like Mithya, Dasvidaniya, Phas Gaye Re Obama and Dear Friend Hitler among others.