With her bold portrayals in Aditya Dutt's 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' and Vivek Agnihotri's 'Chocolate', Tanushree Dutta would seem to the average cinegoer the natural successor to Bipasha Basu and Mallika Sherawat.

However, for the former Miss Universe, a tryst with Bollywood is more about making a mark as an actress rather than being just known as a sex symbol.

"I want to do a variety of roles, not just those requiring me to look glamorous. For me, it is very important that people know me as a good actress rather than just another sex symbol," Tanushree told in an interview.

Denying that she had resorted to an 'indiscriminate skin show' in 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne' and 'Chocolate', Tanushree said, "I have not done any unnecessary exposure in Aashiq Banaya Aapne' and 'Chocolate'. For example, in 'Aashiq Banaya Aapne', barring one love making scene featuring me and Emran Hashmi, I am fully clothed throughout the film. "In 'Chocolate' too, I have just one kissing scene with Emran Hashmi. Both the scenes were integral to the films and were necessary to carry the film forward.''

Currently though, Tanushree is happy with the encouraging public response to her recently-released 'Chocolate', which featured her alongside established actors like Anil Kapoor, Suneil Shetty, Irrfan Khan and Arshad Warsi.

''Chocolate was the first film that I had signed after winning the Miss universe crown. In this context, it is heartening to see the good public reponse to the film. After the film's release, I have received a lot of public appreciation for my performance in it,'' she said.

For Tanushree, the numerous accolades and rave reviews from critics for her work, so early in her career, is specially thrilling considering that she hails from the small city of Jamshedpur and has had no film connections whatsoever.

''For a small town girl like me with no film connections to make it big in Bollywood so early in my career would seem like a dream. Fortunately for me, however, the Miss India pageant provided me an excellent platform which got me initial offers like ‘Aashiq Banaya Aapne' and ‘Chocolate'."

"Being a Miss India contestant also teaches you how to carry yourself and handle media glare, all of which helps one to 'go through the grind' in Bollywood,'' Tanushree said.