It's being said that despite two calls from Farah Khan, you refused to make an appearance in the star-packed Om Shanti Om number. True?
I'd have loved to be a part of the song but when Farah called, I was in Austria shooting for my Telugu film Athidhi. Keen on rounding up her Main Hoon Na gang, Farah called once again. But I couldn't even make an appearance in the Filmfare Award scene because I was doing an ad film.

You even missed the film's trial show.
I missed the first show but caught the second one on November 8. In the movie, all those actors in costume, milling around the studio, brought back memories of my first day of shooting at a derelict mill compound for Ab Ke Baras. Since I'd done several ad films, I wasn't nervous only very excited.

Your Telugu film is a blockbuster. Does this mean a shift down South?
I've been getting offers for Telugu films for the past few years, but it was more important to make space for myself in Bollywood. If I was to allot 60-70 days to a South film, it had to be with the best. Athidhi is a Padmalaya production in a largely male-dominated system it offered me plenty of footage.

You didn't capitalise on the buzz neither after Ishq Vishk and Vivah, nor on becoming M F Husain's muse. Even now, you're playing hard to get with the south producers. Why?
Should I be screaming about my successes from the rooftops? I don't need to. The audience has already given me my Best Actress Award for Vivah. And having M F Husain paint me live was an experience of a lifetime. So many actresses have entered and vanished in the last four years. I'd rather go slow and steady.

What's happening with Hook Ya Crook? David Dhawan hardly mentions it these days.
UTV is in the initial stages of planning its setup. It's one of their best scripts.

Shortcut is also about con games right?
Well, the catchline is ‘con is on' but it's not about robbing a bank. I can't say much, only that after Circuit, this is Arshad's (Warsi) best role. I'm very glamorous too. Anilji (Kapoor) is a very generous producer. He gave us three days off for Diwali. I could dash down to Pune to be with my uncle and aunt who'd flown in from abroad.

My Name is Anthony Gonsalves is complete. So why has the release been pushed to next year?
We still have a portion of a song to shoot and I have four days of dubbing left. It's a sweet comedy and will come when it's ready.

Vivah was a hit. So why did Sooraj Barjatya opt for Ishaa Koppikar for Ek aur Vivah, a rehash of Tapasya?
Soorajji keeps saying he'd like to cast me again and again. But he's only producing this film Kaushik Ghatak is the director. And the heroine is a much older woman. Soorajji told me he didn't want to do injustice to me by offering me such a role.

Your Ishq Vishk director, Ken Ghosh, is working on a musical with Shahid Kapur. Have you been approached for it?
Not yet. Even if he doesn't, that won't mess up our personal equation.

One would have expected to see more of you and Shahid Kapur on screen given the chemistry you share.
We've spoken about this. But after Vivah, we can't disappoint the audience by doing stupid movies.

So the chemistry is restricted to off screen?
(Laughing) The chemistry is restricted to on screen. Off screen, we are just buddies.

Seems you were specially invited for the Jab We Met preview show?
So what, we're friends. But I've learnt that gossip comes with the job. So, I don't react.

Talk is that you've had some cosmetic surgery done.
Sounds scary. I'm petrified of needles. I'd be even if it was an appendicitis operation. To recover from a cut-and-stitch job is not easy. It's not like buying a particular brand of shampoo and being assured of soft and silky hair. I thank God I haven't needed to go in for any kind of surgery, cosmetic or otherwise. I hope I never do.