Plonked comfortably on a sofa, dressed in lilac T-shirt and grey velvet pants, hair cropped short Sushmita Sen looks stunning. Filhaal will be her next release. From item numbers like Shakalaka and Mehboob mere to roles of substance in Biwi No 1 to Filhaal, Sushmita Sen has come a full circle. “Filhaal has me in a role that one will expect Sushmita Sen to do considering the image I have of a woman who has a mind of her own. So here’s something that just the opposite of me but at the same time very much the person that I’m,” she laughs. An interview with an actress who feels she has just arrived!

What colour exactly is this T-shirt that you are wearing?
Lilac! For someone who always wears black, black is synonymous with Sushmita Sen, wearing this colour was quiet a change. Actually Lilac is more of Sia's colour, my character in Filhaal. I'm extremely biased I love to talk about myself. But this time it is Sia who has taken over the interview. Seriously, when Meghna Gulzar came to meet me, I was in a van dressed like a Christmas tree all ready to shoot for an item number of a film. She looked at me and said, "You are my Sia." I found that hard to believe because of the way I was dressed then. I'm lucky to have got this role. For the first time you see characters and not actors in a film.

Talking about item numbers, did you feel hurt when most filmmakers approached you just to do a song in their films?
I didn't! On the contrary I took that as a compliment because I had made my own place in the film industry. Actresses struggle for years and yet don't make a mark while I had made a place for myself in just five years of beginning my career. I knew I was good at a dancing and filmmakers wanted to exploit my talent I didn't feel there was any harm in that. Few know that I have not learnt dancing at all. I can still dance so gracefully. Had I learnt the art I would be a master at it by now.

What do you think about Sia?
Unlike the characters that I have played till now like Pooja or Roopali they didn't have Sushmita at all, Sia is nothing but Sushmita. There are many scenes in the film that Meghna has shot just spontaneously. I haven't rehearsed the scenes at all. I have used hand gestures just the way I do in real life. There were times when lights and reflectors weren't used at all. What was rolling was just the camera and I was speaking dialogues just the way I spoke to people on everyday basis. The media has projected me to be a glamour doll, but Meghna has given me an absolutely new dimension.

And what is Filhaal all about?
Filhaal is a journey of life! A phase people go through! It's about relationships of four different individuals mainly Tabu, Sanjay Suri, Polly (Palash Sen) and me and their commitments to each other. It's about how when put into difficult situations you still live up to your commitment as a friend. It is also about marriage and love. I loved Meghna's conviction in her characters.

When Meghna approached you for Filhaal, did you agree because it was a young girl approaching you for a film or was it because she happened to be two of the most reputed artistes, Gulzar and Rakhee's daughter?
Honestly, I agreed because it was Meghna! The fact that she was Gulzar and Rakhee's daughter could not be ruled out. The day she met she was very clear about what she wanted and expected from me. She gave me the script and very specifically told me that there would be no changes made in it at all. Now this is one of the most rare things to happen in our disorganized industry. I read it and I told her this is what I have always wanted to do as an actress. You know when I was dubbing for the film; Meghna put before me the script too. And believe me the film moves just the way it is written in the script. Not a scene here or there. Gulzar will be proud of his daughter!

People say she was a hard taskmaster…
Oh ya! She was a tough taskmaster (laughs). "Yeh light thik se rakho!" "Yeh reflector idhar karna!" she would scream; they would be on their toes all the time. Whether it was artiste or the spot boy or the light men nobody was above the twenty something old Meghna Gulzar. As I just said she was very clear about what she wanted so unlike other film sets where you have lunch for three hours, post lunch sweets for two hours and immediately rush off home as soon as pack up is announced, here it was just work, work and work. Meghna wouldn't waste a minute. And she has made me Sia!

And where in lies Sia's essence…
Have you seen a child? He is flamboyant and innocent and at the same time displays maturity when he knows he has done something wrong. Sia is somewhat like that! She isn't apologetic about her life at all. The audience will connect to it at some level. I can proudly say that with this role, I have arrived as an actress.