Did you always want to be an acttress?
No, the thought of becoming an actor never crossed my mind. I was a chubby girl doing a course in fashion designing and as part of my training; I was an usher during the Lakme Fashion Week. I would gaze at the beautiful models and dream of walking the ramp some day.

When did you decide that you wanted to see yourself on the silver screen?
The day producer-director duo Arbaaz Khan and Abhinav Kashyap came to my house with the script of Dabaang and my parents convinced me that it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Were you not apprehensive that your co-star Salman Khan is much older than you?
Didn’t Deepika Padukone make her debut with Shah Rukh Khan in Om Shanti Om? Salman is a superstar and any actress would love to work with him. And I am very fond of him as a person too.

What, according to you, is the best thing about being an actress?
The best thing for me will be that I will come into my own and not be known only as Shatrughan Sinha’s daughter. Of course there are other perks like fame and money too.

What is that one essential quality that an actor needs to possess?
Confidence, and that’s something that I have inherited from Mr Sinha!

Will you continue walking the ramp?
I like doing one thing at a time and presently my focus is films. I do not mind doing the occasional show where I am the showstopper.

Which film would you have liked to be a part of?
Omkara and Jodhaa Akbar. I like films that take me into a world different from my own.

Who is your ideal actress?
Konkona Sen Sharma! I admire the way she started off doing different cinema and then slowly made her mark in commercial cinema as well.

What is the one bit of advice your parents have given you?
While mom told me to put my best foot forward, dad just said to take mom wherever I go. I will be happy doing both.