ESHA GUPTA interview STARDUST MAGAZINE

You can't miss Esha Gupta when she walks into a room. She's so incredibly sexy you can't help but lay your eyes on her. But if you thought that she was only all about the good looks, let us tell you that this girl has talent in abundance too. After all, the ex-Miss India has proven her acting prowess in all the three films she has done so far - Jannat 2, Raaz 3 andChakravyuh. Up next, the glam diva has the promisingHumshakals, which is sure to take her career a notch higher. Amidst her chock-a-bloc schedule, we get the hottie to talk about the latest rumours surrounding her, the secret man in her life and lots more!

It has been over a year since Bollywood welcomed the super sexy Esha Gupta. Three films old, the actress is slowly learning the ropes of being a B-town star. Ask her if she has warmed up to the industry and she says, "Some are still accepting me while others are still criticising. You always have people who push you and people who pull you down. But I'm finding myself at peace now. If people are discussing me, it means they're seeing something in me to talk about, right?"

It is often assumed that a beauty pageant is a stepping stone to Bollywood. However, Esha, who was crowned Miss India in 2007, insists that she did not have it easy bagging films. She explains, "Beauties like Sushmita (Sen), Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) Priyanka (Chopra) and Lara (Dutta) also had to work very hard. They didn't become stars just because they were beauty pageant winners. Miss India is a very prestigious platform. No doubt that it gives you respect. But it wasn't easy for me. I started modelling after I was crowned. I don't think anyone said, "Oh, she's a Miss India, we should consider her for our film.'"

She may have had her share of struggle but the good news is that Esha is steadily making her way to the top. Currently basking in the glory of her hit dance number, Dhat teri ki from Karan Johar's Gori Tere Pyaar Mein, the actress is in a happy space professionally. She even admits that working with Imran Khan and a young crew was a novel experience. "It was a lot of fun. Imran is a quiet but extremely sweet guy. He's also so chivalrous. His wife, Avantika (Malik) was also there with us throughout. Even the director Punit (Malhotra) and choreographer, Remo (D'Souza) are so funny. This is when I actually felt at home because everyone was my age and we were chilling. I remember they all kept telling me, You don't have any hang ups'! I'm so glad I did this song."

In the past, there have been instances where the lead actress of the film is threatened when another heroine steps in to do an item song or a dance number. Does she feel it affects the actress's position in the film at all? She says, "I don't think so. By the end, the film is what matters. This is Kareena (Kapoor Khan) and Imran's film. With all due respect, Kareena is Kareena. Even Katrina (Kaif) did Chikni Chameli inAgneepath and it was Priyanka's film. But both of them had a good space."

Up next, Esha has the multi-starrer Humshakals directed by the hilarious Sajid Khan. It must be a laugh riot on the sets, right? "This is the first time I'm getting to know him. I realised that Sajid's films are a reflection of himself. That's how he is when it comes to comedy. He keeps changing a lot of dialogues and it scares me. Everytime he changes something, I can see Saif (Ali Khan) and Riteish (Deshmukh) looking at me and I'm like, Guys, this is my fourth film, give me a break! You both do it and I'm just going to follow you two'. But the cast and crew are supportive. They give me enough time to get comfortable with the scene. I remember we were shooting in London and it was so cold one day, I couldn't shoot. I was just apologising and Sajid told me that I could take it easy and do the shot when I'm completely ready."

For any newcomer, it is highly imperative to choose films wisely. Considering Sajid's last offering, Himmatwala didn't live up to the audience's expectations, wasn't she apprehensive about working with him? She nods in disagreement, "When I met him, he asked me what I thought of Himmatwala. I told him that I didn't mind it. I actually thought it was quite funny. So he made a straight face and said,It wasn't meant to be funny'. I didn't know what to say! What matters is that I'm doing a film with Sajid Khan. Everyone has hits and flops. Just because his last film didn't work, doesn't mean Sajid is a flop director. For me, getting a call from Pooja Films was a big deal. I was told that it's a Sajid Khan film opposite Saif and Riteish. It was an instant yes from my side."

As much as Esha would like her life to be non-controversial, she has found her name being attached to many rumours.The latest one suggests that there's something brewing between Sajid and Esha. "I know, even I've read about it. We've all read about it, haven't we? The journalist who put this story out tried contacting my PR but I didn't want to give a response. I was waiting to see if it gets picked up by other publications but nothing of the sort happened. You read it and you just know how fake it is! People would want to say that I haven't got a film on my capability but I'm okay with that. Let them talk," she puts her points across.

Adding further, she says, "Besides, people know that I've been a relationship with somebody for the longest time but it's just that I don't like getting into this media business and talking about my personal life. I think they just want to see him but I don't want the poor guy to get dragged into all this. My boyfriend is mature enough to understand that this industry thrives on rumours. Before I even entered the industry, I had told him that such things will happen and people will write. He has come to terms with it."

Nudge the glamorous girl to give his name out and she laughs, "It's online everywhere. Just Google it!" So is the man in her life socialite Feroze Gujral's son, Armaan, as is being suggested by several websites? "Hmm...maybe, maybe not! I can tell you that he's not a businessman. But whatever you find online, that bit might be true," she blushes. Ask her if she ever plans to come out in the open about it and she giggles, "If we date for another few years and end up getting married, you all will be invited. But right now, that's not happening."

Coming back to Humshakals, reports have been suggesting that there's tension between the leading ladies, Bipasha Basu and Esha. Apparently, Sajid's favouritism towards Esha hasn't gone down too well with Bips leading to the two sharing cold vibes with each other on the sets. But Esha begs to differ, "No, no! It's just rubbish. I don't know who has been planting these stories. Even during Raaz 3, we had no issues whatsoever. Now you're asking me so I'm telling you but I never like to clear things because the media will anyway keep writing."

So is she implying that there's not an ounce of truth to these reports? Clearing the air, she says, "See, everyone likes a spicy story. That's why this rumour has been doing the rounds. It's a good story but unfortunately, it's not true. You can see us both sitting together on the sets. She's fun to be with. I've realised that she's very young at heart. She's still a 17-year-old. It's stupid for people to think that Bipasha will be insecure just because I'm there in the film. We keep joking around on the sets. I tell her lies about some places being haunted. We all know how Bipasha is so afraid of ghosts. So I like doing that to her. And she takes it in good spirit. That's how our equation is."

Before Esha came on board, Jacqueline Fernandez had been signed on for the same role in Humshakals. However, after Sajid and Jacky allegedly ended their relationship, the director found his heroine in Esha. Was she always aware that she was the second choice for the film? "It doesn't matter if I was the second choice for Humshakals. We know of so many films where the director has considered 10,000 people. In the end, what matters is who did the film. When the film will come out, people won't say, Oh, somebody else was supposed to do this role'.What matters is who did it well," she states sternly.

Talking about rumours, sometime back, stories also suggested that Alia Bhatt and Esha were at loggerheads because both were vying for TheVillain opposite Sidharth Malhotra. Besides, it was said that Esha had become friends with Sidharth - something that Ms. Bhatt did not appreciate one bit. Ask Esha what was that all about and she sighs, "There was never any problem with her. Firstly, I think Alia is really talented. She's really pretty and quite fun too. Although I've met her only a couple of times, she has been very warm to me. She was one of the first people who messaged me and told me that she loved Dhat teri ki. She is Bhatt Saab's (Mahesh) daughter. She has had a great upbringing. So please spare both of us," she takes a breather and adds, "See, I don't have too many friends in the industry. But I don't want enemies. When such things were being written about, I didn't want to take it because it wasn't true. So I decided to bring it to an end and put in an article stating that all that's being written about is bull-crap. I just had to waver that off."

Even though Esha is finally finding her foot in Bollywood, she feels the sense of struggle will always remain for an actor."I'm still having my share of struggle. You don't know what the right step is. There's no one to push you if you go down. There's no one to look after you. If you do one thing wrong there will be 10 people to point fingers at you. Very few will motivate you. Luckily now, I've made few friends who I really trust. So I'm glad about that," she ends with her sexy smile.

Chandni Ghosh

i thought that was Deepika Padukone in the pic! or