She’s not on Akshay Kumar’s television show among the 13 female fatales pulling daredevil stunts, but Neha Dhupia leaped to the task in the Khiladi’s new film Singh Is Kinng when a stuntwoman hurt herself while giving a shot.
The sexy and tough actress to whom riding bikes, bungee jumping, skiing and sailing comes naturally, is playing a character close to herself ! Which is why the adventurous Neha didn’t think twice when she was informed that her stuntwoman was out of action and she would have to carry out the stunt herself.
“It’s no big deal, really. People thought they were breathtaking stunts, but I just took a deep breath and did them,” admits the actress. “I had to be on a yatch, sailing and beating up bad boys, and then I had to step out of a limousine and shoot them down. All this was easy, except that I had to do it wearing a gown!” laughs Neha.
She has five releases this year and that too after she took a sabbatical of six months. “My career is on the right track and I’ve got eight great projects in hand,” says Neha who made director Anees Bazmee change her name from Rosy in Singh is Kinng to Julie. Incidentally, Julie was the name of that bold film in which Neha bared all. “It was a good way to associate myself with the character. But, frankly, the difference between the Julie then and the Julie now is a lot,” she says.
And there’s a difference between the onscreen Julie and offscreen Neha as well. She hates wearing make-up all the time. Recently she surprised paparazzi by appearing at Katrina Kaif’s birthday party in her de-glam avatar. “Off screen, I’m more a jeans and Tshirt person who wouldn’t mind stepping out in bathroom slippers. Come on, it’s good to under dress sometimes,” says the sexy star. Personally, too, life is smooth sailing with India’s ace squash player Ritwik Bhattacharya. For long, Neha didn’t come out in the open and admit their relationship. But now for BT, shaking off the “we-are-justgood-friends” tag, Neha admits, “Yes, we are a couple. I think now is the right time to talk about us.”
