"Karam is a very special film for me for the emotional turmoil that I went through while enacting the role of Shalini No doubt it is an action film, but I literally lived through the emotional trauma in the film while shooting for it. In that respect, I consider it a very powerful performance," says Priyanka Chopra, who is eagerly awaiting the March 11 release of the film.

In the film, Priyanka plays the role of Shalini, the wife of a reformed assassin who has given up his gun but is forced to take it again, when Shalini is held hostage by John's former gang leader, who forces him to exterminate five people in return for his wife. "It is a diagonally opposite role from any of the romantic roles that I have done so far," she recalls.

The film happened to her when debut making director, Sanjay Gupta mentioned a one-line story to her while on the sets of 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'. "He was the cinematographer of the film and I quite liked the story line when he told me about it. Besides being a brilliant cinematographer, Sanjay is also a known music video director in his own right. The fact that the film is being produced by Harry Baweja gives it an added edge," Priyanka justifies her decision.

She also has a good word for John Abraham, her co-star in the film. "John's a professional to the core and has done a fabulous job in the film. His career is already on a fast track and his performance in Karam, will take it one step further," she says. There has been talk about the excellent on-screen chemistry that she and John Abraham shared during the making of the film. "I am glad about the on-screen chemistry since this is only the first film that we are doing together," she says.

Karam marks a total diversion from the bold negative role that she had last essayed in 'Aitraaz', which is also one of the reasons why she is looking forward to the film's release.

"Not really. Every character has its own shades and it is important to merge with the character in the film. On second thoughts, I don't think I would ever do an 'Aitraaz' again. That's not because I am averse to doing negative roles but I definitely wouldn't like to do something as bold as 'Aitraaz'," she reflects. "I did 'Aitraaz' because I felt that the character had an edge to it. That has always been one of the main criteria for signing films, besides the story and the banner," she adds with an afterthought.

Currently, Priyanka has an interesting line-up of forthcoming releases, among them being Vipul Shah's 'Waqt-Race Against Time', in which she is paired opposite Akshay Kumar for the third time, followed by 'Yakeen' and 'Barsaat'. "They all seem to hold a lot of promise but right now it is the response to 'Karam' that I am eagerly awaiting," she quips.