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While most actresses conveniently forget where they started off, Koena Mitra prefers to remember everything. In fact, she doesn’t regret that she started small. Her logic? “If you are launched in a biggie like a Karan Johar movie, small producers will be scared to approach you. You too cannot consider a small producer or a small budget film after that. Whereas I started off with smaller banners – a slow but steady start.” And of course today she’s signing films with the likes of Subhash Ghai and PNC, not to forget her latest Hollywood film supposedly with none other than Orlando Bloom. Way to go girl!

Every actress has a hidden hobby or passion, and we’ve just discovered Koena Mitra’s. The actress is sporting a new tattoo on her waist, and she’s flaunting it quite proudly. And obviously, she’s aware that her latest acquisition is only enhancing her sexy look. Well, like we always say, when you have it, why not flaunt it?

Every Bollywood actor it seems, is fascinated with the south. So after Nagma, Simran and Yana Gupta’s recent sizzling dance in Shankaradada Zindabad, we hear another bombshell, Koena Mitra, is getting ready to sizzle on the South screen with a hot item number. And she’s signed other south films as well. Looks like after Bollywood, Koena is all set to sizzle in Tollywood. Good luck, Koena!

Looking good comes with a price! We have heard that Koena Mitra was housebound until a few days ago, after a recent lip job went terribly wrong. She went through a silicone implant surgery, but the result was very different from what she had expected. The actress now intends to get a correction surgery done to get rid of her swollen lips.

Says a source close to the actress, “She got a lip job done about 10 days ago but the result is far from pretty. She has almost locked up herself in the house and doesn’t want to meet anyone.”Close friends of the actress inform that she has been craving for a perfect pout. After having consulted a few high profile cosmetic surgeons in the city, she decided to get lip implants done, instead of collagen injections.

The procedure was painful and expensive. With the not-so favorable results she will have to go under the knife very soon and bear the pain again. A reliable source says, “She used to complain about her thin lips. But her lips are completely swollen now. “When quizzed about it, the actress refused to come clean. She denied having got any surgery done. She said, “I have not got any lip surgery done.”

The actress has been mired in similar controversies before. Her fellow colleagues have alleged that she has had other cosmetic surgeries done including a rhinoplasty. A reliable source says, “She has definitely worked on her nose. She is very careful when her make up artist applies make-up on her face on the sets.”

Her father’s kidneys had been giving problems for a while now. So, when actor Koena Mitra was invited to attend an awards ceremony in town today, she came down a day earlier to spend time with her family.

Ask Koena if she would want to emcee a show and she declines. “I love to perform for a live audience or make appearances. Hosting shows seems mechanical. I will not be kicked unless it’s an international platform on social awareness.” And who’d she want as her co-host? “If it’s music, I’d like Madonna. From the acting fraternity, I’d love Sharon Stone or Tom Cruise. Among cricketers, my choice would be Brian Lara.” Koena would love to wear a trendy sari. “I’ll wear it like a sari and not drape it like a sacred thread. If my mom and grandmom see my sari picture, they should feel happy.”

What if someone like Tom Cruise kissed her, à la the much publicised Ronaldo-Bipasha kiss? “Bipasha is my senior and I don’t want to talk about her. I’m a professional at work. What I do outside work is none of anyone’s business. Hugging is a normal form of greeting abroad.” Koena insists that the media shouldn’t make heavy weather of the Ronaldo-Bips kiss. “The industry teaches us to be bullet-proof. But the masses often start believing what they see. If you are in a serious relationship, no one will like a partner being presented in that way by the media,” she signs off.

This could well have been a wonderful opportunity for Koena Mitra to shed her glamorous image and gain access to the ‘serious actor’ territory. If everything went off well, that is. Ruefully, all’s lost even before the game has begun. Koena Mitra, who was offered the role of Zaheera Sheikh in three times National Award winner filmmaker Ujjwal Chatterjee’s next film, has refused it.

As is known, Sheikh is the most prominent face of the Gujarat genocide. Chatterjee’s version, though focusing more on the Godhra incident and the mass killing, did have Sheikh as one of the substantial characters. “We were trying to work something out with Koena. We approached her, but nothing materialised. We will announce our new heroine’s name next week,” says Chatterjee. Mitra couldn’t be reached for her comments.

Ever wondered who Koena Mitra’s style icon is? Well, the actor, who has acquired quite a fan following of her own, likes to put it in her own way. “Take a drop of Ashanti,” she quips, “Add a dash of Beyonce. And top it all with a twist of JLo. That’s what my style icon should be like.” Now wonder what concoction that’s going to lead to? Going by Koena’s sense of style in her films, however, one has to admit that it would definitely be something to watch out for!

Koena Mitra’s getting studious these days! Come Monday, she’ll be heading to Darjeeling to visit her alma mater, South Point. “My principal, who’s now retired, called me to my school along with a bunch of ex-students comprising businessmen, journalists and professionals who have made it big in life. I’m thrilled. She told me, ‘Your presence will make it special.’ I’m really looking forward to meeting my classmates – people who I’ve not seen in ages,” says the excited actor. Koena will also perform at the gathering.

How’s it going?
The last schedule of Apna Sapna Money Money is on. I’ve signed a film with Anant Mahadevan and two more with Mukta Arts. My main focus right now is not to be labelled as a B-grade heroine. There’s no point in doing ten films with newcomers which will vanish in a blink. I’m just a year old in the industry and I’ve done pretty well for myself so far..I think.

What about the disastrous Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena?
I was the solo heroine,my role was like that of the hero’s. I was disappointed when the film tanked..but there was a silver lining. My performance was appreciated, it took me on a higher level as an actor.

So who’s your support system in the business?
No one. But I do know that it pays to have a surname here. If you belong to a film family, you’re launched with a script that matches your personality. Even if the star kids dish out ten flops, they keep getting more work. They can survive without a hit for ten years if not more.

Is it a handicap to be known as an item girl?
Let me tell you, the craze for item numbers is over. In any case, every actor has done an item song. I’ve done two songs in Musafir and two in Ek Khiladi..all chartbusters. I was acting in the films, so the songs were a bonus. The O saqui number from Musafir was a huge hit, it overshadowed everything else I did in the film. But after that, I’ve turned down all item songs even from big banners.

How come you aren’t a part of any of the nine films Sanjay Gupta has announced?
You’ll have to ask him this question. I’d definitely jump at a film offered by him. Sanjay is a friend and his production company, White Feathers, is like family. I’m in touch with him regularly but I can’t ask him why I’m not in any of his films. It’s a mystery.

Reportedly Riya Sen and you were in a catfight
Riya and I’ve sorted this out. The trouble is that a certain journalist made up all kinds of lies and said Riya and I had problems. Imagine, the journo even wrote that I’d had a face-lift! You have to be at least 45 years old to do that. Now Riya and I are even working together..but I’ve resorted to legal action against the journalist for writing pure rubbish.