Priyanka talks about Baywatch

Actress starts filming Baywatch from next week; reveals she wanted to play the antagonist since she's not done a negative role in a while.

The Baywatch flick went on the floors yesterday with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Zac Efron in Miami, but Priyanka Chopra will only be joining the cast next week as she is busy with her TV series, Quantico. The 33-yearold actress reveals that she had been offered another role but it was the antagonist who caught her fancy.

"I haven't played a negative role since 7 Khoon Maaf. It's an unconventional part, the kind I enjoy playing, and a really funny script," says PeeCee, who had a blast when she had met the cast last week at a joint reading session. "We were constantly cracking up while reading our lines. We have all grown up watching the TV series and I can't wait to start shooting for the film."

Dwayne has described her as "insanely talented, relentlessly smokin' and extremely dangerous". Our desi girl is bowled by the compliments but admits that she has met him only once during the reading sessions. "The team was very welcoming and knew each other's work well," reminisces PeeCee, who will be juggling between Montreal and Miami, Quantico and Baywatch, over the next few months. It's going to be a packed hectic schedule, but she points out that if she could strike a balance between Montreal and Mumbai, Quantico and Bajirao Mastani, she can do it again.

Speaking of Baywatch, everyone's waiting to see her in Pam Anderson's iconic red swimsuit but the lady is quick to point out that she's not one of the life guards. "So you'll have to wait and watch to know if I need to wear a swimsuit at all," she says enigmatically. "I am the interruption in the slow motion run on the beach."

She has a Bollywood film, Jai Gangaajal, coming up and the actress is hoping she can make a quick trip to Maximum City in time for the release. After Quantico got a second season, the makers were aware that PeeCee would be stuck abroad so they decided that director Prakash Jha, who plays a significant role in the film would promote it back home while Priyanka would be the face of the international campaign. "It's a really special film," she reiterates, dismissing comparisons with Ajay Devgn, who had played Senior Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar in the original, reasoning that they are two different characters. "I think they will be talking a lot about Prakashji's character. It's not out-andout negative, more like tinged with grey. I used to pull his leg on the sets as this is his first film as a full-fledged actor. He was a real sport."

Buddy Deepika Padukone is in Canada too shooting for her own Hollywood flick, the Vin Diesel starrer, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage. Any plans to meet up? "She is shooting in Toronto while I am in Montreal which are two different parts of the country. I was supposed to be in Toronto for an event but it got cancelled. I hope we get to meet," she sighs.

Meanwhile, her Bajirao Mastani director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, will be announcing his next film on his birthday, February 24. Is she a part of the cast? "I love Sanjay sir, we are on the same wavelength. I wish him all the best in advance. We are in talks for a few films but nothing has been finalised yet," she signs off.