INTERVIEW--PREETI PURI

You took quite a long break between Mamta and Naagin… Waadon ki Agnipariksha. What have you been up to? I bought a house on the 27th floor. I love heights. But I'm terrified of driving. My car is barely 15 days old and I've already rammed it several times. How is it playing a rubber snake in Naagin? (Laughs) Hey, I'm a Naagrani. There was this scene in which you die and became a rubber snake. Ha ha! Sayantani is scared of snakes so they use rubber snakes. You shot a naagin dance with Manav Gohil in a furry skirt, recently? (Laughs out loud) Manav was complaining incessantly about mosquito bites. Yes, it was a weird costume that turned itchy after a while. But the TRPs soared and we were all happy. How do your relatives react to your vamp act? The distant ones don't come too close .They think I'm a bad woman in real life too. You're quite tall, isn't that a hindrance? Yeah, at 5 ft eight inches it's difficult find- ing heroes who can be paired with me. Once a production house even asked me to suggest names! I lost out on Kkusum because of my height. So, whom would you like to be paired with? Iqbal Khan. He is taller than me and has a great personality. Half the time I' m run- ning around Lokhandwala market looking for flat chappals. With Iqbal, I can wear stilettos. Would you go under the knife to look prettier? No, I'm quite happy with the way I look but yes, if it is a Hollywood movie, I might just think about it. Why would a Hollywood movie require you to undergo plastic surgery? (Thinks) Maybe because I have a mole on my nose. I have lots of moles. They're hered- itary they keep popping up all the time. You're always wearing long earrings. Don't they hurt? Yes, but as Tanisha in Mamta, I had no choice. I had to look the part. When I was abroad at a party I was surrounded by women who kept asking me for my ear- rings. It became uncomfortable after a while. So I handed them over to the ladies after the party. Tell us about Bidaai? I play a bahu called Avni. I don't know much more since we don't get narrations. You did Aitraaz with Akshay Kumar and 36 Chi- na Town with Upen Patel. What was the expe- rience like? Fun. Akshay Kumar spoke to me in Pun- jabi. Upen.. (thinks) he didn't know how to speak since it was his first film. You don't mind doing itsy-bitsy roles in films? No, but I have issues about exposing. I would never do that. Any show you would want to be a part of? Any of the Hats Off productions. I missed the bus twice because I was busy with Mamta. Any show on air that you can't stand? Parrivar.. I can't pinpoint why. What would you do if you woke up to find that you were Baa in Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi? I'd tell Ekta to kill me. Pronto!