Priyanka Chopra: Beauty from Bareilly

SHE turned from model to actress and now Priyanka Chopra wants to become a model actress. While 'Andaaz' remains close to her heart, she admits she would think twice before exposing again.

After the success of films like 'Andaaz', 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'and 'Aitraaz', the former Miss World is now looking to tone down her act.

'I am at a stage of my career where roles of substance matter more to me than when I started out. Andaaz was a relatively bold film in terms of my costumes but it's something I was very sure I wouldn’t be doing again after I watched it on screen. Andaaz was and will always be very special to me, but I am no longer comfortable wearing those kind of clothes. On hindsight I realise Andaaz was a bold film, but I still don’t know why I did it when I did. Perhaps I didn’t fully realise the implications of what I was doing. After all I was just 18 when I shot for the film. Maybe I didn’t know any better. But definitely it's not something I want to do again,' she says.

The bare-dare days are over, insists Priyanka. As she looks at the audiences will get to see 'less' of her on screen: "I don’t think I am going to expose anymore. What is the need? It is possible to wear trendy clothes and look sexy.

As newcomers, most of us don’t realise that people are forming an impression about you through the clothes you wear. For example in Andaaz, although Lara ends up getting the guy, I had a more varied role - it was a nice combination of comedy, sadness, sacrifice and lots of pranks. But it is a hot and sexy image that everyone recalls. Such a realisation can only come through experience. That is why actresses sometimes do things in the beginning of their career that they might repent later."

The Beauty from Bareilly is not afraid to buck the trend by covering up. "The so-called phase of bold cinema only lasted for a little while and it's now gone. People want to see films that are character and story oriented.

The industry always has its ups and downs. There have been times when period films, war films and action films were popular by turns. Likewise sex too has come and gone.

Today it is romantic films that rule the roost," she claims. Priyanka's new coy andaaz seems to be as much in demand as her predisposition to sizzle earlier. There's certainly no dearth of offers. "After Waqt I’m looking forward to Barsaat and Yakeen. While in Waqt I play the spoilt kid of a rich father who wakes up to reality when she has to support her husband (Akshay Kumar) following a rift with his family, in Barsaat I am a small-town girl with a strong character. Yakeen again is a very different and performance-oriented role. Both films should release sometime in June," she says.

Priyanka is also ecstatic about her pairing with Hrithik in Rakesh Roshan's Krish. According to her: "Krish is turning out fabulously and I’m very happy with my character. People haven’t seen me do anything like what I’m doing in Krish and that's really exciting for me. The film will release next year."

Despite the avalanche of high-profile appearances, the actress denies she's overly ambitious. "I don’t think I have ever been ambitious. I would otherwise have planned my career far better. I have made my share of mistakes. Even though I have done some good films and some bad films, I do enjoy the art of filmmaking. Some films I do because they are good films; others to satisfy the actor inside me. But by and large I do films instinctively. There's no plan or method behind the choices that I make," she says. Priyanka, who would have been an engineer if showbiz hadn’t happened to her, describes herself as 'complicated but not complex.'

She also rules out any complications beyond her on-screen chemistry with Akshay Kumar. "I need to stay away from all rumours at this stage of my career. Silence is the best option for any situation. I don’t want any controversies in my life and I don’t think I should be giving importance to non-issues by talking about them. One thing I am very clear about - I can handle almost anything except anyone messing with my family. I don’ts allow that," she says.●