Yet, there are aspects of the role with which she identifies, like the girl retaining the “quintessential qualities of the real world”. In the film, her parents don’t like her being an actress and are very interfering in her personal life. However, Mansi does not succumb to family pressure and goes out to carve a niche for herself in the star-studded, glamorous world. “She is a strong woman, and very different from the characters I have played,” she stresses.

Her detractors, however, feel that the pretty actress is feeling the heat from newer, hotter girls, which is why she is dropping her simplistic look and embracing a sleek, sexy avatar. “I would only pity them for their lack of foresight,”she says dismissively and is all praise for directors who have “the vision” to cast her in contrasting roles. “Farah (Khan) saw me in this coffee commercial where I was this sweet, shy girl who couldn’t even speak about her boyfriend to her father and cast me in a tomboy’s role (Sanjana) in Main Hoon Na,”she says appreciative of her director. She also talks fondly of a song Tum mile in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves, which gave her a contemporary look and hairstyle (read, sexy). She rates it as one of her best looks. That was the trailer that paved the way for the full-blown makeover in Short Kut....

Short Kut..., incidentally, a remake of Malaylam hit film Udayananu Thaaram, is about two friends, a struggling writer and a wannabe actor who dreams of making it big. The heroine is an aspiring actress who marries the writer but due to circumstances, the couple is estranged. Amrita, however, doesn’t want to discuss the story and insists that Anil Kapoor only initiated the idea from the film. “Neeraj changed the plot and has re-shot the climax. We have two endings to the film,”she lets on. So, has she seen the original? “No, I didn’t want to get influenced and I am sure this film will have a body and soul of its own,”she clarifies. As for her co-stars Akshaye Khanna and Arshad Warsi, Amrita says working with the duo was challenging. “While Akshaye is a one-take actor, Arshad is high on improvisations,”she reveals.

... contd.