No she-male for Sophie

Strange things happen in Bollywood. Sophie Choudry (she wants to drop the VJ tag) discovered that, while shooting for Vikram Bhatt's next film, Speed, in Mumbai.

For the stunt that she had to perform, there were no female stuntwali available, so a hairy-legged stuntman was asked to wear Sophie's clothes and do her action sequences. A stunned Sophie refused to allow this abnormality.

No hairy legs

Sophie laughingly recounts the incident, "In Hindi films there are no stuntwomen for the actresses — only stuntmen! When I reported for my first day of shooting for Speed, I was asked to fly on cables. It was an action sequence and I asked who my stunt double was. I was shocked to see this guy, wearing a long, curly dark wig and a leather skirt, come up to me.
So I asked, 'Yeh kaun hai?' The unit guy replied saying, 'Yeh aap hai.' And to top it all, I discovered this guy had thick, hairy legs. I put my foot down. No way was this man with thick, hairy legs going to pose as me! I said that I will suffer and do my own stunts but not allow this guy to pose as my stunt double."

Sophie adds, "My action director, Abbas Ali Mogul, was very helpful and patient with me. He taught me the right moves and made things easier. People think I am this dainty woman who would hate to break her nails but I am not. In Speed, I have done all my stunts so apart from breaking all my nails I have scraped my knees and knuckles and was covered with bruises all over my body."

Talking about her role in the film, Sophie reveals, "I play a very sexy girl with a tough attitude. She's cold, headstrong, hard-hitting and kicks ass. It's like playing an Angelina Jolie kind of a character. It was a very demanding role and I am very proud of my performance."

Sophie's very excited also about two new projects. "I have a couple of more interesting projects. One is an Indo-British production and the other is a big Hindi film. I am keeping my fingers crossed for both."

On the personal front, she says there is no one in her life, "I haven't been dating anybody for the last couple of years. My love life is extremely sad. I think my three-year-old niece has a more active social life than me," Sophie giggles, before signing off.