Kangna Ranaut is someone who can rightly be called the 'Eternal Sunshine Girl', for her smile is something that simply makes everyone's day come alive. Even though she hails from a small town of Himachal, in no time, she has made an impeccable mark in the Bollywood. Her name is on everyone's lips ever since she said 'Cheese' to the 70mm silver screen. Beautiful, enigmatic and a powerhouse performer Kangna Ranaut will soon be seen in Balaji and Milan Luthria's Once Upon A Time In Mumbai.

"I was brought up being told that medicine was a noble choice of career, that I should grow up and be a doctor so I could treat the poor for free. I believed in that, wholeheartedly because that's how kids in those days were trained to 'be good and do good'" says Kangna. And luck too was on her side as she aced all her exams in school until she failed one Chemistry unit test in 12th standard. "I was made to stand outside my class and that's where I started thinking differently."

Though Kangna sailed through her Higher Secondary final exams with an easy 85 percent, her scientific bent of mind wavered. "I had switched off. Unlike earlier, my name was nowhere in the toppers' list this time. I prepared for the pre-medical MBBS exam, filled up the form and never appeared for the test," says Kangna. As for academics, this was the end of the road for her. "I'm not even a graduate; almost an illiterate actually," she quips.

Her shift to Delhi at this point thus happened at a crucial crossroad. An enthusiast of the arts now she found her calling in theatre, which eventually landed her in Bollywood. The ride wasn't easy at all though; Kangna who had started her journey at the nubile age of 16 say’s convincing her parents was a tough hurdle to cross. "You see, mountain people are mostly content leading simple lives," admits Kangna, "Despite their lack of exposure to what's happening in the rest of the world. So convincing my parents to let me go away for a year was difficult, more so, because I myself didn't know where I was headed. I was too young. I would pick up bad words, habits so easily." But Kangna dived into her newfound passion nevertheless and emerged as one of the top actress in Bollywood winning National award for her outstanding performance in Fashion.

On changing her wild image wearing saris:
I wore a sari for the first time for Shilpa Shetty’s wedding. I’m not really a sari person but what else can one possibly wear for a wedding? I didn’t want to look out of place. People have to understand whatever actors do needn’t have an ulterior motive behind it. I am not planning to change my image or anything like that.

On whether it’s okay to go under the knife:
Who says surgeries make one look good? I haven’t seen a single woman who has looked better after a nose job. It looks so fake. With botox on their faces, their expressions become so rigid. One should accept nature and when you grow old, you must do so gracefully. Each one is beautiful in their own way but the media has set certain standards that one must look a certain way. This is how your nose should be; this is how your waist should be. That’s rubbish and misleads the youth.

On finding solace in yoga after her break up:
Yoga and meditation have really changed my life — physically and mentally. They’ve made me happy, beautiful. I’m much more active and peaceful. It’s important for every woman to practise a certain kind of healing daily considering the traumas she goes through. They drain us physically and leave deep scars on our minds. It’s important to get your energies back and clean your system.

On paying price for stardom:
Life has been unfair to an extent. That’s why I need to meditate and develop spiritually. Everyone goes through break-ups but not all of them wake up scared of reading a wrong report in the newspapers. I don’t have my family with me; sometimes it becomes difficult for my sister (Rangoli) and me to handle things.