PHOTOGALLERY

Oberoi Sky Heights in Mumbai seems to be the new favoured address of B-town folks. It was in the news recently when Director Farah Khan evinced interest in buying a flat there. Himesh Reshamaiyya reportedly owns three floors there and it happens to be Shriya Saran's address as well. You enter a room delightfully flush with colours, red being the predominant hue. Shriya's mom enters, an ex Chemistry teacher, she is elegant and soft spoken, who fusses about coffee and snacks. In walks Shriya, in hotpants, a fitting tee and carefully casual hair. There is a relaxed air about her and she looks a far cry from what one is used to seeing on screen. If you google Shriya you will find a lot of pictures: Shriya in a shimmering saree with truckloads of flowers in her hair, sizzling Shriya in a wet saree, Shriya in short curly hair?all the pictures have some unprintable comments as well, but Shriya loves her fans. "I've never had any kind of unpleasant experiences with mine. They've all always been very sweet and encouraging."

DANCE BABY, DANCE

Shriya is and has always been crazy about dancing. Her fondest memories of childhood in Haridwar (where she grew up) are of holding her mother's hand and going for dance classes. She trained under the famous

Shovana Narayan. She did a music video Tirakthi Kyon Hawa and one of the Telugu directors spotted her in it and approached her with the lead role for the movie Ishtam. She wasn't sure if she wanted to act in movies, but gave it a shot nevertheless, and then as they say one thing led to another. Even before the release of Ishtam, she signed three big budget movies. Ishtam was declared a hit, and the offers for film commercials as well as movies never stopped! So far, she has done about 40 movies, in various south Indian languages, a few Hindi and two Hollywood movies. Deepa Mehta's Cooking with Stella is yet to be released. One of the highlights of her career was acting opposite Rajnikant in Sivaji, a role coveted by many in the industry. This role showcased her beauty very well. It was a treat watching her getting transformed from a simple sari clad belle to a mini skirted vixen, to her credit she carried both images with ease and panache.

We discuss everything from Qasab to Rajasthani food (it's the menu of the day), Shriya's mom is Rajasthani, while her dad is a north Indian. Shriya loves her rotis and is partial to south Indian food as well. We are discussing movies, when she comes up with a lament of not being a good judge of scripts, petutantly she says that for the New Year it is going to be her resolution, try and understand a script well before signing it on, as she jokingly says that there are many movies in her kitty that she wishes she had never done! But she is too much of a diplomat to say which! She has set her sights firmly on Bollywood, her past Hindi movies didn't exactly set the box office on fire. Mughal-e-Azam is one movie that completely fascinates her, and it is one role she wishes she had done!

A walk around Shriya's spacious and tastefully done up house is next on the anvil, especially after the heavy meal. There are books at every corner. Shriya is an avid reader and I get to borrow some books! I kid Shriya about her marriage plans and she doesn't seem to bite the bait about revealing if there is someone special in her life, so I decide to word it differently: if there was to be a Swayamvar, whom would she want to have for it? Pat comes the reply, If I have to marry someone I love, why would I invite others? Touche! But so far, there isn't anyone on the scene. What about good friends in the industry? Trisha's (the actress) name is the first on the list, followed closely by Kenny (Vikram). Talking about favourites, her favourite co-star is Rajnikant, "He's an angel. Completely hassle free and simple."

LANGUAGE BARRIERS

Hailing from the north, did she have any issues with south Indian languages? She thanks her helpful colleagues and the unit hands in helping her with the language. Their support helped her a lot in the beginning. Today she demonstrates how each region of the south has its trademark expressions, " In Andhra, ?what' is expressed with a show of thumb over the palms, in Chennai people love using Macha as a term of friendly endearment and in Bangalore everyone is addressed with a ?Da'!"

For someone who was just another college kid sailing along in life like any other kid, she was picked up by fate to make it big in a world that was completely alien to her, yet Shriya made it and made it big. Just shows to prove that your success is predestined and being in the right place at the right time makes all the difference, add to that Shriya's biggest strength, "I am very hard working" and there is no stopping from your name shining up there!

If you google Shriya you will find a lot of pictures: Shriya in a shimmering saree with truckloads of flowers in her hair, sizzling Shriya in a wet saree, Shriya in short curly hair?

1. WHAT DO YOU THINK IS YOUR GREATEST ASSET IN TERMS OF PHYSICAL ASSETS?

My eyes. And I'm learning to use them better in my profession. (An avid fan of hers chooses to disagree, ?it's her kissable lips' he claims.)

2. WHAT'S YOUR STRENGTH?

I'm very hardworking. (From the little we've learnt, her mother's support and a loving close knit family could also be counted here.)

3. WHAT'S YOUR WEAKNESS?

Dark chocolate. (She is right, she didn't gorge on the delicious kheer, and took a teeny weeny bite of a dark chocolate square, explains the compact figure!) Professionally, I am a bad judge of scripts. I'm working on that.(There are some movies of hers out there, that prove it.)

4. YOUR FAVOURITE OUTFIT

Shorts. I can live in my shorts! (Why not? When you can carry it off so well!)

5. YOUR FIRST DATE

It was a very simple one. It was with this guy I had a crush on in school. (Wish she could open up a little more on this!)

6. YOU KEEP FIT WITH

I love working out. I also practice yoga and meditation. I love swimming also. (Very evident.)

7. YOUR BIGGEST FEAR?

Sleeplessness. I'm also scared of the dark. (The little-girl in her keeps popping up with answers like these.)

8. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF FIVE YEARS FROM NOW?

I'm not good at planning, so I have no idea! (Honesty, best policy!)

9. CHEESIEST PICK UP LINE YOU EVER HEARD?

Have I seen you somewhere before? (C'mon guys you can do better than this!)

10. A SECRET ABOUT SHRIYA THAT NO ONE KNOWS

I'm going to get a tattoo done. (And she looked over her shoulder to see if mom had heard)

11. IF YOU HAD TO CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

My stubbornness. (She counts this as her biggest weakeness.)

12. IF NOT AN ACTRESS?

I would be a dancer, a Kathak dancer. (It would have surely been cinema's loss.)