Was it identifying with the color factor that made you lap up to Vikram Bhatt’s offer of Red?
I was in fact shocked when I heard the subject of Red. It was so intense and I was overwhelmed by the fact that a director like Vikram actually considered me for a serious role like this. All this while I have been considered as a young glamorous actor without being really taken seriously. But full credit to Vikram that he found that woman in me whom he wanted to portray in his story. He is such a well-balanced individual with a great mind, which shows…

So how has Red eventually turned out to be?
It has been an emotionally journey for all us, be it Vikram, me, Aftab or Ammu [Amrita Arora]. Each of us has been so emotionally involved with the film that we were driven in a big way by the way characters we conceptualized and brought to screen. Personally too I was going through a sad phase in my life and that made me understand the depth of my character very well.

How about the storyline itself?
I would state it this way – While the storyline is quite modern, the film is a little backwards once it comes to emotions and no, don’t ask me how that is because that’s something you would understand better when you watch the events unfolding in front of you.

Any genre that you would want to classify Red into? Seems it is a thriller.
No, it is not a thriller of any kind. It is just that Vikram Bhatt has been associated with thrillers for so long that people expect that kind of treatment even in a film like this. More than being a thriller, Red actually belongs to French noir genre, something that has never been attempted in Indian cinema.

Promotional music videos of ‘Aafreen’ and ‘Aameen’ are giving an interesting touch to the film too.
Let me clarify on that too before people jump into any kind of conclusion about Red by watching these videos. Believe me, these videos have nothing to do with the actual story of film, and let me repeat it, “nothing at all”! They are solely for the promotional purpose and that’s about it. The film in itself has a serious storyline to it and isn’t titillating or sleazy as some journalists are choosing to tag Red as after watching these videos.

Really? I thought the videos have been classily shot!
But then someone out there chooses to think otherwise! This journalist speaks to me about the film and even has an audacity to ask me if there was an orgy angle to Red. Now how much more can someone’s imagination run amok!

It really sounds strange…
I know, it really is! I mean here we are a bunch of people who have worked so hard in the film and someone stands up and says that just because there is a one-off promotional shot featuring me, Aftab and Ammu in a bath tub full of rose petals, we are in an orgy. Now how much sick can it actually get?

You sound angry.
I actually am since I take this as an insult to my entire team and me. You just can’t come and insult an emotion that is as divine as love and what orgy are you talking about. Let aside orgy, why is there such a big deal made about lovemaking too? Why use it in a derogatory sense? Lovemaking is something that is so natural in a beautiful relationship that a man and a woman share, so why demean it? Don’t animals make love? How did an entire evolution happen over millions of years…?

So go on.
Here I have just one thing to say to conclude up matters and that is, “PLEASE GROW UP GUYS! Grow up beyond small little things like a kiss or a smooch or snuggling”.