I dont want to be stereotyped!

After proving her mettle in films like Matrubhoomi, a crossover movie, Tulip Joshi will now be seen in a host of Bollywood flicks, Dhoka being the latest. She talks about her soft corner for the Bhatt camp, her Mumbai spirit and the intricacies of playing a journalist.

Q: What was the reason behind doing Dhoka after Matrubhoomi?
A: After Matrubhoomi, I was being offered similar roles which were not challenging my creative ability. I do not want to be stereotyped in the industry. I want people to remember me as a versatile actress. That is why I signed up for Dhoka. My performance in the film would definitely prove to the audience that Tulip is capable of handling all kinds of characters.

Q: Tell us about your character in Dhoka.
A: I play a Kashmiri Muslim girl, Sara, who is married to a man named Zayed, played by Muzzamil. I'm a suicide bomber in this film. I cannot tell you more.

Q: How was the experience of working with newcomer Muzzamil?
A: Muzzamil is a hard-working and intelligent person. His language is a mixture of Urdu and our Hindi. I am happy that I worked with him because I have improved a lot on my Hindi.

Q: How do you find Pooja Bhatt as a director?
A: Pooja is a very good director who knows exactly what she wants. She is extremely passionate about her work and pays special attention to the looks and acting of the artistes. I feel that being an actress herself, she knows what difficulties we face in front of the camera.

Q: How much input did Mahesh Bhatt put into the film?
A: Though he is the writer of the film, he went out of his way to make us actors understand our characters properly. This made our work so much easier. Mahesh Bhatt is also passionate about his work and it won't be wrong to say that Pooja has inherited the trait.

Q: How did you bag this role?
A: I received a call from Pooja's associate and when I went to meet her, she offered me this film. You will not believe me but I had signed this film without even listening to the story. I have been a big fan of Bhatt films for long. It was like a dream come true for me.

Q: What else are you doing besides Dhoka?
A: I'm doing a yet-to-be-titled film, directed by Rohit Jugrat, under the banner Asthavinayak. Cast opposite Kunal Khemu, I play a middle-class orphan girl named Mausami. She is simple at heart and wants to become a journalist. Then there is a film by Amol Shedge titled Kabhi Kahin and Arindum Mitra's Shunya, written by Anurag Kashyup and starring Kay Kay Menon.

Q: Did you do any homework to play a journalist?
A: No, nothing special. All I did was keep track of the body language of journalists. I also watch news channel to know their behaviour. I have learnt a lot this way.

Q: Which films are you doing down South?
A: Last week, my Malayalam film with Mamoothy named Mission 90 Days was released. This film is doing good. Then I'm shooting for a yet-to-be-named film, directed by Raju, along with Venky.

Q: What would you like to say about Mumbai?
A: Mumbai is the best metropolitan city in the entire country and there is no doubt about that. What I like most about this city is that it never sleeps. We should be proud that multinational companies have opened up their offices here. The standard of living has improved and unemployment has been taken care of. People here do not show off and do not poke their noses into other people's business.

Q: Tell us about your interests.
A: I like reading and traveling. Apart from Africa and Middle-eastern countries, I have toured almost every part of the world. I loved France, Ireland and Italy.

Rajnee Gupta (SAMPURN)