Esha is cool with the ‘sexy’ tag

Esha Deol at her candid best


Effervescent Esha Deol's bubbly giggles are contagious, even at a distance. A star daughter who's handled obvious comparisons with her mom diplomatically, Esha's transformation from a chirpy, cherubic teen to a well-toned sexy star has been gradual.

Shedding off her puppy fat wasn't easy for Esha at all. She had to spend hours burning calories, working out dutifully (with some gentle persuasion by friend Zayed Khan who put her on to her current fitness instructor) before she could flaunt her fab abs in Dhoom .

Since then the 'sexy' tag has kind of stayed with her and it's one tag that she doesn't mind having! Being called a sex symbol, says Esha "feels nice. Honestly, that was a role I was required to play in Dhoom . If the role demands, I am ready to dress up a particular way. You would never find me in a low neck or a saree pallu draped the wrong way in real life. I am dressed more simply. But it's fun being sexy sometimes."

After the not-so-successful Just Married and Cash , is Esha worried? Not quite, promises the bindaas bombshell, especially with a slew of exciting films like Ram Gopal Varma's Darling , Kunal Shivdasani's Hijack and Mukesh Bhatt's Jannat . "It is too early to talk about my other projects but Hijack with Shiney Ahuja is a cool film. "

Has her dream role come her way yet? "My dream role would be something of a mix of Razia Sultan and Mother India . But being a classical dancer, at the end of the day, I would love to play that on screen too. I've had enough of the jhatak matak roles," she exclaims.

Esha doesn't think she'd really enjoy living without the arclights around her. At least for now. "There have been days when I was at home and thinking that the day wasn't worth living. If I'd not been an actress, I would have been a very fat girl, bored with life. I love living a hectic life."