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She may have become the glam sham ma’am of Bollywood, but Esha Deol enjoys being Bollywood’s ‘Girl Interrupted’. “I’m a sucker for pain,” says Esha, who’s known for her love for tattoos. And her role in Ram Gopal Varma’s Darling is painful, alright. “I play an unsatisfied soul who returns as a ghost to finish the unfinished,” she explains. Being directed by RGV for the first time ever, Esha is quite thrilled. “It’s wonderful being in a film that’s directed by Ramu himself, and that’s pretty rare these days. The thrill about working with him is that he makes you look so raw and natural. You aren’t pancaked with make-up.”

Esha seems to enjoy similar R-n-R (Raw and Rugged) films as well as thrillers when she is simply chilling out. ” Indecent Proposal, Fatal Attraction, Girl Interrupted and Darr are my kind of movies,” she says. But her more recent and stylised Cash didn’t quite rake in the moolah at the box office. “I regret Cash to a certain extent. I myself didn’t understand what the film was all about when I watched it. I agree it was a decision gone wrong.” But there is enough and more happening in the girl’s life for her to be bogged down by one failure. She is getting several endorsement opportunities. “A lot of hardwork has gone behind becoming what I am. You need to deserve it. It’s not easy and such things don’t just fall into your lap. But I am happy that it’s all happening now,” states Esha. With RGV re-making Sholay, mom Hema Malini voiced her anti-Ramu opinion, and felt that such a classic shouldn’t have been re-made. What are beti Esha’s thoughts? “There are so many yesteryear classics that are being re-made, so why not Sholay? Ramu is intelligent, and he obviously has his reasons for doing what he does. Also, he seems to have a solid viewpoint, because in spite of the second generation of the original Sholay actors being around, he has settled for his own casting coup. And yes, he’s a thinking maker.” So would Esha have liked to play Basanti? “No, till today I think only mom should and can carry off a Basanti. She is as chirpy, lively and beautiful today as she was then.” With a lot of actresses claiming to be offered Bond roles, we’re sure Esha in her new sexy avatar can well be a great contender. “The Dhoom series in India is quite like the international Bond series, and I’ve been a part of it. I enjoy working here and don’t find the need to go to the West to make a point. I doubt the West will come to me. They are flooded with hot blonde chicks around them to even think about casting me as a Bond girl,” she concludes on a candid note.

She’s quite a social person, but after being amidst the chaos of the film sets, Esha Deol usually prefers her own company after pack up. Ask her what she’s been doing by herself recently and she informs. “I was in Cape Town recently shooting; it is such a beautiful place and I’m quite a beach bum. I used to head off to the beach quite often. I like my own company. I can’t take too many people around me after a point in time. I like being on my own and just sitting on the beach.” Of course, with that perfectly toned figure being flaunted on the beach, she surely must have turned more than just a few heads. How the dudes must have wished she wasn’t such a loner, right?

Esha Deol, for a photo shoot of her film Darling at a suburban hotel, took along her darling doggie with her. But rules being rules, she was politely informed that no pets would be allowed inside the premises. So, what did Esha do? She quickly mentioned that the dog was part of the shoot. Unfortunately the management put their foot down and Esha had to make do by playing with her doggie in between shots. What a ‘darling’!

When Bipasha Basu grooved to the Bidi jalai le number (Omkara) little did she know that she’d be setting a benchmark for all item numbers and items gals to follow. Every glam-gal in Bollywood is now trying to beat the record of that number. But coming up with a sizzler like Bipasha’s number is no ordinary feat. Apparently before Esha Deol agreed to do a hot-number for Sunday, she told producer Kumar Mangat that she’ll do it only if the track is as racy and hot as Bipasha’s Bidi song. Esha heard the song Kashmakash hai ye sung by Shibani Kashyap, and ever since, her feet haven’t stopped tapping. Well Esha, maybe you should ask Bipasha how to make people dance to your tunes. What say, Bips?

Work. That’s where it’s all at for Esha Deol right now. “It’s because I really don’t have a personal life now and I’m totally dedicated to my work,” she confesses.

If it’s her work that gives her the biggest high, Esha is looking forward to acting with mom Hema Malini in the near future. “It will be a reality soon. But I’m going to act with Rekhaji even sooner and am looking forward to that. She has seen me as a baby. People like her and my mom are special,” she says.

Ask her about acting with papa Dharmendra and she says that won’t be possible. “It’s because we are so emotional about each other; there’ll be tears in our eyes and we wouldn’t be able to act,” says Esha.

Papa is her role model, but her ideal man is not a romantic hero. “He should be down-to-earth, love me for who I am and accept me with my flaws. He should be driven and like working,” says Esha.

As for her own work, she says a variety of roles keeps her interest alive. As a trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she’s someone who can easily express the navarasas or emotions. Which is probably why Esha can switch from one type of role to another with considerable ease. “In Na Tum Jaano Na Hum it was about a relationship kept alive by writing letters; in Just Married it was about a woman in an arranged marriage; and now there’s Jannat on the cards. Chemistry is important in such films and I keep observing people to get into the skin of the character,” says Esha.

There was homework to be done for her more complex role in Ankahee in which she’s in love with a married man. “I had to meet and know women who’ve been in that situation to internalise that character,” she says.

And for the thriller, Cash, she had to learn to pivot a car 360 degrees! “I did the stunts myself and although I’ve been driving for a long time, I took special training,” she adds.

Alongside those heavy duty performances, she also swung to an item tune in Kya Kashmakash Hai. “I like dancing when I’m irritated or angry; it helps release stress. Dancing is about emoting gracefully and that’s what I’ve tried to do in the item song. They’ve spent a lot of money on it. It’s like a Russian ballet and I get to fly from one end of the set to the other,” says the dancer.

Career apart, politics interests Esha and she discusses it with her mother. “I always talk to mom about improving infrastructure and culture in our country. There are so few people who are interested in Bharatanatyam or other traditional dance forms; everybody wants to learn salsa and waltz,” she says.

She converses with her mom in Tamil. “It’s our code language in a place where most people speak Marathi.” Ask her what her mom tells her in Tamil and Esha says, her diction perfect, “Pavam yen kozhandai, yevlo velai pannitu vandrikai (my poor baby, how much work you’ve done!). That’s what my mom says when I am back from a hard day’s work!”

If that explains how Esha bagged a role in Mani Ratnam’s Aayitha Ezhuthu, her desire to watch Sivaji shows her love for southern cinema. “I admire Rajnikanth, but haven’t had the time to watch Sivaji yet. I must,” she says.

The last time she grooved to an item number, Esha Deol set the stage on fire. This time around, with a new look, and sexier avatar the girl is back on the dance floor for Rohit Shetty’s Sunday. Talking about items numbers the dancing Deol had said, “Dhoom machale was such a rocking, chartbuster that it’s tough to match up to that and do another item number which is so good.” Now that she’s taken on the challenge, let’s see whether this one creates a lot of dhoom as well!

It’s usually a book or some friends who keep actors company on the sets of a film. But actress Esha Deol is different, of course and can’t get enough of her pet dog. When we visited her recently, on the sets of Sunday, we had the lovely black-andwhite Picola (her dog) come and greet us in her van. “She keeps me company everywhere - at home and even on shootings,” says Esha. Pampered and doted upon, a dog’s life isn’t so bad, after all.

At the music launch of Zayed Khan’s forthcoming film Rocky on Monday night, Esha Deol sent everyone present into a tizzy. The reason - the permanent tattoos on her back. The actress got the Gayatri mantra tattooed on her right shoulder and a shaded Om on the right a little over a month ago. “It wasn’t planned at all. But I’ve always been very spiritual and I’ve been chanting the Gayatri mantra since I was a child. I’d been thinking of getting a tattoo for a long time but it just never happened till now,” says Esha.

Ronni Froberg at Funky Monkey did both the tattoos that took about two hours to complete. “I designed the Om, which is shaded blue and we downloaded the Gayatri mantra from the net to get the spelling and font right,” recalls Froberg. Esha had visited Funky Monkey earlier too. “Hair stylist Peri Patel had got Esha here about two years ago, but she couldn’t decide on any designs. A month ago, Esha came in alone and she knew exactly what she wanted tattooed.” Esha now joins Bollywood’s tattoo club, which includes Sanjay Dutt, Apoorva Lakhia and Urmila Matondkar.

Are you looking forward to being directed by younger sister Ahana?
Yes! By the way, she’s already started directing me at home (laughs)..

What does Ahana think of your work?
She is my worst critic as is my mom. They are constantly criticising my clothes, hair, looks. Both of them put together are too much to handle.

How comfortable are you with doing intimate scenes?
It depends on how the director shoots it. There are people who shoot with wrong angles, but I am very particular about these things. If I have to do intimate scenes, I rehearse it. At the end of the day, I have to get married and be accepted at home. You also have to keep in mind what your kids might think of you in the future.

How important are PR skills to survive in the industry?
I can’t do fake ‘PRgiri’. I can’t call you to my van and say, ‘Hi buddy, how are you doing? Would you like to have lunch with me? Would you like to come for a trial of my film?’ I know PR people are hired today. But I really don’t understand how if you fall or miss a flight, it makes news. I talk to the press just before a movie release, as otherwise my life is very boring.

Are you aiming to be the next number one?
I have lots of goals. There are a lot of things that are close to my heart. I don’t believe in discussing them, but I am a very ambitious person.

Can you get ahead in life just by working hard?
You could be working hard, but you could be doing really s*** hard-work and not get anywhere. At the same time, you can do quality hard-work and get somewhere. It’s your choice.

Okay, so how do you define s*** hard-work and quality hard-work?
(Giggles) For me, quality hard-work is something that is well-structured, pre-planned and well-utilised, something which earns you good recognition.

So ‘Dhoom’ was quality hard work and ‘Na Tum Jaano Na Hum’ is…
No, no, all my movies are quality hard- work. (Breaks into laughter).