Yearning for more roles from Tollywood directors actor Riya Sen today said "I am a Bengali and not a foreigner."

Just that I am doing lot of works in Mumbai doesnot imply I am averse to good scripts here, " Riya told on the sidelines of a design institute event here.

"This is a preconceived notion of all Tollygunje film makers. I live in Mumbai and I do travel places for shows and events but I will come back and stay for days if any good project comes my way, " she said recollecting how many Bengali directors said they would love to work with her but felt she was hard to get by.

Ria, who was present at the announcement launch of the Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID) the second campus in country after Ahmedabad, said "no idea why a sexy tag has stuck on me." About her role in Rituparno Ghosh's Noukadubi, she said "as we met days after 'Chokher Bali' he discovered I am much younger than Raima.

"Noukadubi is a period film which will always be a milestone in my career. For the costumes in the movie, a reputed jeweller had made very differently styled and crafted articles, " she said. Riya, who would be seen in 'Zindagi 50 50' and 'Hai Rabba Main Kya Karoon?' this year said movies help a lot in influencing the fashion statements of individuals.

"Not everybody can watch a fashion show but today's youngsters carry off so well which I can see in the streets and places that I visit. As it is, people get influenced by actors and actresses and how they dress like and so films do play a role, " she reasoned.


"In this century, the word fashion also goes with your confidence, how much self-assured you are and that is called style statement including the accessories you are wearing, more pertinently for a woman, " she said when asked what fashion meant for a modern day girl.

Ria, who termed sibling Raima Sen as the 'Tollywood queen' here, said she drew fashion inspirations from her legendary grandmother Suchitra Sen and the late Royal Gayatri Devi.

"If they replicate the Ahmedabad experience as the second such institute in this part of country this will help the burgeoning entertainment industry in Bengal and east, " she said about UID.

Ace designer Abhishek Dutta, mentor of UID, said the fashion designers here, who are the most aesthetically creative in the country, will get boost if a place comes up which brings out designers with global aptitude.