The Bengali damsel still has a long way to go. Rimi Sen has recently broken ties with Priyadarshan and comedies, and thinks her last movie, 'Hat Trick', was excellent, despite its fate at the box office. These days she is excited about her recent film 'Johnny Gaddaar'. While we wait to watch how she will fare in this one, we chat her up.

Q.: What are you looking forward to in 'Johnny Gaddaar'?
A.: This is the first time that I have acted in a genre that is not comedy. I think if the director is good, then everything goes well. I did this film for Shriram ji. I have seen his last film, 'Ek Haseena Thi', and I was spell bound by the way he presented Saif and Urmila.

Q.: Tell us about your character in this film.
A.: Shriramji has simply forbidden me to say anything about my role. All I can tell you is that I'm playing a simple girl named Mini, someone who wants to live life happily. The role required me to wear clothes styled from the 70s – wrap around skirt, simple churidars, etc. I am not glamorous in the film I look good. My character has many shades.

Q.: What was it like, working with Neil?
A.: It was a great experience. The best thing is that I did not have to stand on a piece of wood. As all my previous heroes were much taller than me, so I needed to stand on something to gain height. People make you dance on their finger tips, but I have always had to dance on a piece of wood!

Q.: There are some hot scenes in the promo of the film.
A.: And that is all you see in the movie as well. There are no kissing or love-making scenes between Neil and me. I am not very comfortable with those, and Shriram ji kept that in mind.

Q.: And what was with like working with Dharmendra?
A.: I have only one scene with Dharmendraji. It was wonderful meeting him. I have earlier worked with Esha and Hema ji, now I have to work with Bobby and Sunny very soon.

Q.: You have worked with two generations of actors. How was that experience?
A.: Actors of this generation are more liberal. They think in innovative ways. Actors from the previous generation, on the other hand, are more serious – they think over a shot for quite some time before they are ready to take the shot.

This is an art and it comes out of experience. Till I become a senior actress, I'll completely depend on my directors.

Q.: Are you happy with the characters you are playing?
A.: Absolutely. The most important thing for me is that I'm working with better directors. I have been in Mumbai for three years, and I have learned a lot. My last film 'Hat Trick' was a good movie, but it's a different issue that it didn't wok well at the box office.

Q.: Tell us about your upcoming films.
A.: There is 'De Taali', the story of four friends, where I'm working with Ayesha Takia, Reteish Desmukh and Aftab Shivdasani. The schedule will be over by the end of this year. Nana Patekar and Mohit Ahlawat are my co-stars in the film 'Shagird', where I'm playing a reporter in this film. That was a tough job.

Q.: Why?
A.: I found it tough to get the expressions of a reporter. I always thought that reporters were not to be trusted with whatever you said, but I found out that is not the entire truth. They also have responsibilities in relationships. If you ask them not to publish something, they won't.

Q.: What do you think of reporters now?
A.: I used to think that it was all hype, but now I feel a reporter deserves some respect. It is a merciless job. - Rajnee Gupta