Tired of her sex siren image, Tanushree Dutta wants to do some serious acting now. She will be seen in the role of a commoner in Priyadarshan's new film Dhol, to be released in September. A month before that, her long-awaited film Speed will also be released. She speaks about her past mistakes and future moves.

What is the film Dhol all about?
It is a hilarious movie, with Tushar Kapoor, Kunal Khemu, Sharman Joshi and Rajpal Yadav doing all the comedy. I am playing a simple college-going girl, who visits this particular colony where everyone mocks her and makes fun of her. You need to watch the movie to know what happens thereafter.

Have you signed any other comedy film with Priyadarshan?
As of now, I haven't. I am just desperately waiting for the release of this film.

Like before, even this time your films are getting released in pairs.
Yes, its true that to date all my movies have come out in pairs. This time I had hoped that three of my films will be released together --- Good Boy, Bad Boy; Raqueeb and Dhol. However, the latter's release got postponed. So now, Speed will get released in August and Dhol in September.

Speed's release was held up for almost two years.
I am happy that at last the thriller is about to be released. It is about a tragedy on which every character in the film reacts in a different manner. Besides suspense, the movie has comedy and masti. Starring opposite me is Zyed Khan, he keeps doing silly things throughout the film and keeps getting beaten up by me.

How was the experience of working in a multi-starrer?
Working in such projects has both pros and cons. But one can learn a lot from them. I don't think the concept of a main lead works in a thriller anyways.

We have heard that you had to go through a make-over for this movie?
(Laughs) The shooting went on for two long years. During this period, I kept gaining and losing weight. The colour of my hair is black in one scene and has changed in the next, as has my hair length. But the funny part is that this has happened to every artiste in the film.

You had put on lot of weight, and were quite apathetic about your health. Weren't you serious about your career?
Of course, I am very serious about my career. Before entering the industry, I enjoyed a carefree life. But now I am trapped working on shifts. I was doing projects in the south which demanded me to put on weight and at the same time I was doing Raqueeb, Good Boy Bad Boy and Dhol. The hectic schedule took a toll on my health. Late night shoots and mere four hours of sleep left me mentally and physically stressed out. But now I have become organized, I see to it that I don't overdo things.

When you were getting lead roles what was the need of doing item songs?
In Hindi films, the main lead never does item songs. Someone else is hired for it. I love dancing and these songs helped me make a mark. Keeping all this in mind I had decided to do item songs. This turned profitable for me.

Will your fans see you doing an item song soon?
I guess they will have to wait a while; I have taken a break from item songs. Two years back, I did three item songs. Now I am concentrating on acting.

You have experimented with a lot of roles in this short span. What kind of roles are you interested in doing now?
There's a lot to be done. I want to do comedy, try out few more negative roles and perform better. I would love to do some action but unfortunately the concept of females doing action scenes is not popular in India. But if I ever get the opportunity I will definitely take it up.

Your scuffle with actress Amrita Arora had made headlines. What was the reason behind it?
Newspapers can put in anything to fill their pages. That's all I can say. Media these days print any gossip they come across. They don't even take the pain of verifying it.

SAMPURN