'I want people to know me for being Tanushree Dutta'

Article Updated 01 September, 2005 12:53:49 PM IST

'I want people to know me for being Tanushree Dutta' - Tanushree Dutta

Tanushree Dutta, the 20-year-old student of Communications at Pune University, won the Miss India title at a contest marred by the controversy surrounding Laxmi Pundit. Her first splash in Bollywood happens this Friday with Aaditya Datt's ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne’.

Excerpts from an interview by Vickey Lalwani:

How does it feel to be in Bollywood?
It feels great to think that we beauty pageant girls are being given this platform to prove ourselves. I think we have that initial training on how to carry ourselves, how to speak, and how to handle the media glare- all this works to our advantage. The journey is tough and challenging and it's just beginning. But I am enjoying myself very much.

So, you think models and beauty queens can act?
It's an unfair accusation. Actresses like Juhi, Sushmita and Aishwarya have broken this myth long ago. And if models really couldn't act, then I don't think filmmakers would be foolish enough to tap their talent and cast them in big projects.

A Bengali and a dusky beauty; comparisons with Bipasha Basu are obvious, aren't they?
I take that as a compliment. I think Bipasha is stunning and has a great body too. But I don't want to be the next Bipasha Basu; I want people to know me for being Tanushree Dutta.

I’m forced to ask you this question and I suspect you'll give a clichéd answer. Having been a beauty pageant contestant, where does true beauty lie?
(Laughs) Beauty doesn't always lie in the eye of the beholder. Sometimes it also lies within and not outside the person. Therefore if you don't have love and respect for yourself, you can never be truly beautiful. Self-esteem is one of the basic conditions of looking good and feeling great.

I wasn't off the mark. Anyway, which actor do you like the most and why?
Shahrukh Khan, I must say. I like him first, because he's an Indian and second, because he's such a nice human being.

Hero you look forward to working with?
Shah Rukh Khan.

Buzz is, you also want to start a restaurant?
Yes. But so far, it's a dream. I hope it gets realized one day. Given the opportunity, I would love to work as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations and travel far and wide to bring about peace and harmony. I'm very concerned about the problems that face mankind today and want to contribute in whatever way I can to solve them.

Agnihotri is livid that you did not keep yourself exclusive for his film 'Chocolate', but instead signed three films behind his back, and one of those was 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne'. You even signed 'Rokda'?
There was neither a written agreement, nor a verbal one, that I wouldn’t be signing other films. Vivek has reasons to be upset that 'Chocolate' is not releasing first, but I couldn’t help it; 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' had fewer characters than 'Chocolate' and it completed very quickly. I am an actress, not a producer; I can’t decide release dates.

Agnihotri is so angry that he has deleted your kiss in the film?
I have not seen the final print of 'Chocolate', so I have no clue on whether Vivek has chopped off my kissing scene with Emraan. I think it was integral to the script; the kiss built up my character’s relationship with Emraan’s character in the film.

What is 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' all about'?
Sonu Sood (Karan) loves Tanushree (Sneha), but is too much of an introvert to ever express his feelings to her. Their lives change when Karan’s childhood friend Vicky (Emraan) joins Karan and Sneha in college. Sneha is drawn to Vicky.

And 'Chocolate'?
Seven people in a foreign land find themselves hauled up by London police and made scapegoats. Anil Kapoor (Krish) is an egotistical lawyer. Suniel Shetty (Rocker) is an obsessed lover, Irrfan Khan (Pipi) a soulful thinker, Arshad Warsi (Tubby) a playboy and I (Sim) a temptress with a dubious past. Emraan (Deva) plays a passionate musician and Sushma Reddy (Monsoon) plays a down-on-her luck journalist.

The media pen has caught up with you. You are being linked up with your director Aaditya Dutt?
I don't care. As long as I am right, I have nothing to fear about.

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