Esha Deol to now rock on

Esha Deol believes in working an extra bit harder for her roles. After learning kick-boxing for Cash, she's learning to play the guitar for Shivam Nair's next, Exchange Offer opposite Rahul Bose. Esha says, "Learning to play the guitar is the toughest thing on earth. It's easier to prepare for an action film. I have been learning to play the instrument from Raju, an acclaimed guitarist, who was scouted out by the producers, PVR. I've never played a guitar in my life - even in my college days. It's very difficult. I squint half the time trying to look at the strings; apart from the fact that my fingers hurt."

Esha says she initially thought of faking the guitar-playing scenes on screen but director Shivam advised her against it. "I also thought why not learn it like I have learnt to dance to jazz? I can't sit idle for long. It can always come in handy some time and I have a fine ear for sur and taal. I have been practicing every day for an hour. The first tune that I mastered in the first couple of days was the Ek Haseena Thi tune from Subhash Ghai's Karz. I also want to learn how to play Dilbar Mere from Satte Pe Satta. It's my mom's song and my favourite."

But Esha says it will take a long time to master that tune. "The way I am going, I will learn to play the tune when I am 50!" Esha laughs and adds, "But I must say both mom and my sister Ahana have been very encouraging. Mom learnt to play the sitar while Ahana's been learning the guitar for a long time."

Esha's next release is Kunal Shivdasani's Hijack which releases this week where she's paired with Shiney Ahuja. Esha says, "I am not paired romantically opposite him. We do share certain chemistry in our scenes. I play a gutsy airhostess but when the plane gets hijacked, I stay cool and calm. My passengers' safety comes first. We had great fun shooting for the film in Mauritius."