Going by Bebo makeover, we wonder did Minissha take some tips from the Size Zero goddess. Apparently not, the actress took the long route out and went in for an eight-month rigorous work out regime. “I did the usual dieting-gymming routine to get a body for the bikini” said Minissha.

Minissha likes to be 17. She played a 17-year-old girl in her recent success Bachna Ae Haseeno and even in her forthcoming film Kidnap; she is enjoying enacting the role of a girl of the same age.

“However, apart from the age factor, there is absolutely nothing else common between the two characters that I portray on screen for the two films”, says Minissha who has consistently impressed critics and audience alike with her performances in Yahaan, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd, Dus Kahaniyaan, Shaurya and very recently Bachna Ae Haseeno. “Sonia of Kidnap is so very different from Mahi of Bachna Ae Haseeno even though both are in their growing up years.”

Revealing more about the contrasting parts that she has played in the two films, Minissha says, “In Bachna…, I was this sweet girl with moony eyes who is looking for togetherness in life from the first guy she falls in love with ever. She is unable to ever forget her first love. On the other hand in Kidnap, my character is that of a hip girl who parties hard, is quite sassy and overall energetic. She never lets a dull moment around her.”

Since she is in her early 20s, where does she see herself in real life? Is she the bindaas Sonia from Kidnap who doesn’t mind getting into a bikini once on beach?

Laughs Minissha, “In real life I am somewhere between Mahi and Sonia. I am not that dreamy and demure or overtly outrageous. I am rather pragmatic in real life and know what is possible in real world and what’s not. I am actually quite grounded to reality and that’s the way I like things to be.”

How easy or difficult then it is to portray something on screen, which is not your real self?

“Of what I have learnt in three years of my professional career here in Bollywood, I understand that the whole point is about how you are perceived in the industry. I am liking the way I am experimenting with my roles and appearances”, says Minissha.

A much coy Minissha is going for a major image makeover. In her soon-to-be-released Kidnap, she would be donning a bikini, which certainly comes as a surprise to those who have seen her in films like Yahaan, Honeymoon Travels Pvt Ltd, Shaurya and Bachna Ae Haseeno.

“Well, it is shocking for quite a few people but if you ask me, I am really enjoying it all”, says Minissha who has had an eventful 2008 so far.

“Seriously, I felt beautiful when I donned the bikini for Kidnap. And though people do ask me how comfortable I was with the thought of wearing a bikini, let me tell you that I was more focused on getting my body into the right shape than worrying about anything else.”

Talking about her decision to join the bikini bandwagon, Minissha says: “Yes, I have joined the bikini bandwagon. After all, not many girls are doing it even today, isn’t it? In any case when you see Kidnap, you would realise that the makeover isn’t for the sake of it. This was meant to be a part of the character and I was duly convinced that donning a bikini was indeed an integral part of the script.”

By wearing a bikini for Kidnap, Minissha now joins the gang of young women who have willingly agreed to get into the costume for a Sanjay Gadhvi film. After Esha Deol (Dhoom) and Bipasha Basu (Dhoom 2), she is the new bikini girl for Gadhvi.

“And I am so very proud of that”, exclaims Minissha, “When Sanjay told me that I had to go through this image change in Kidnap, I was game for it. I feel it was great to explore a new side of me. Going by the reaction that I am getting from people, I guess the experiment has indeed paid off.”

Talking about her future plans, Minissha says on a parting note, “There is stuff in the pipeline for sure but at the moment, all my energy and focus is on Kidnap.”