The actress who’s kitty has several other films this year — including Pankh, another film with Ajay Devgan, and Rituparno Ghosh’s Sob Choritro Kalponik — says that doing films internationally are not as much her priority as doing good films here. “SRK is higher on my wish list than Brad Pitt. There’s so much more to do here first. There have been several offers in the past, but somehow they haven’t materialised either due to date hassles or other such issues. If a good offer comes along I’d love to do it, but I am never bidding a good-bye to Bollywood,” she quips.

This apart, what has Bips really excited these days is doing up her new apartment. “I can’t wait for the work on it to get over. It’s being done up since the past six months now and each and everything in it has been handpicked by me, so I am really excited about moving in it soon,” she says. With John? “That, I’m not telling you,” she smiles.

• Maybe have one last fling?
Flings have never featured in my life. I have been in a solid relationship from the time I was 17. I’m a solid relationship person. This is not to make a statement, it’s just the way I am. I value my relationship and if someone messes with it, they’ll get a kick up their arse. 

• How about travelling on your own?
That’s not for me either. I like to travel in large groups with friends, boyfriend and family. I am not a backpacker. I am actually a very protected girl, who always had someone to look after her.

• You do plan to get married at some stage don’t you?
Yes I do, because I have grown up seeing my parents’ marriage and touchwood, it is a great marriage. After so many years they still crave for each other, my father has her photograph as his screen saver and loves it when she is looking pretty and she still cooks special meals for him. As for when I plan to get married, my friends often ask me and my parents do too but I think when the time is right you just know, and I don’t know it yet.

• Does the thought frighten you?
Not the thought of marriage as marriage. I’ve been with John for eight years now; it’s almost like a marriage. What frighten me are the intricacies. Like when his and hers become ours. Just now it’s his house and my house, when the day comes that I can think of his things as mine and my things as his, that’s when I will be ready for marriage.

• But when you do think of marriage it is John that comes to mind isn’t it?
(Laughs) Yes at this point of time it is, because we are in a serious, hard-core relationship, there’s nothing frivolous about it. Everyone around us knows and both the families accept us as part of their family. Also, though John is a very responsible person, I don’t know what kind of a husband he would make. He definitely wouldn’t be like my dad, who is my ideal for a husband. And he’s pretty old, his basic characteristics aren’t going to change, but this is what I’ve fallen in love with so let’s see. If we have to get married we will. I don’t know.

• Now that you have turned thirty has your life changed in any way.
For one, from next year I’m not going to talk about my age except to age backwards either by one year or two, as the fancy strikes me. I heard that after 30 it was a must to have multi vitamins so I started taking them just before I’ve never ever done a facial, so now that I’m 30 I’m contemplating starting a moisturising facial except I don’t know who to ask about it. Maybe I should take up clubbing, say once a week, for the rest of my life. I gave that up eight years ago, that was the big compromise I made for John since he doesn’t like to dance and is, in fact, quite stiff.
But actually nothing much has changed in my life; though I do feel more responsible now. I don’t understood why there is so much baggage thrust on a woman when she turns 30. It doesn’t happen to a man. I don’t know why a woman is supposed to be married when she is 30. It’s not like I need a husband to validate me. I got famous on my own and I’m proud of that.