'I am not comfortable doing bold scenes'

Her fans call her the Mallika Sherawat of Kannada. But she prefers to be known by her own name. Model turned actor Sanjana is not just a hot babe, as this full-fledged interview by Latika Chuganey reveals.

Q. Why was your name changed from Archana to Sanjana?
(chuckles) It was at the behest of my director. It seems that there are many Archanas in the Kannada film industry. More over I liked the name Sanjana. Doesn’t it sound sweet?

Q. It seems you carry a whole bag of pet names?
Well yes, I am lucky to have so many people love me. My mom calls me ’Gudiya’, ‘Guddi’, which sounds very typical Sindhi-Punjabi types.
My friends call me Naina, Archie, Archu and now its further cut down to Chu, can you believe it, and now its Sanj, Sanju, San…

Q. Tell us about your Ad days.
Actually, after college I used to hang out in Café Coffee Day and Barista. That’s where I used to get directors coming up to me offering me an assignment or calling me to their office.
My first Ad commercial was with ‘No Marks’. I have signed myself as a brand ambassador for a year. My contract ends in June with them.

Q. What is your duty as a brand ambassador?
Well, it feels great to be a brand ambassador at the age of 19! I have to shoot for the ad every 3 months on different concepts. My first ad that I shot is still on air. So changing the concept is really not happening.

Q. Are any of your Ads on air now?
Yes. You can catch me with John Abraham in the ‘Fast Track’ ad. I am the girl who acts very flirtatious with him. It was a dream come true to act with the superstar of the present generation. It was just superb!

Q. How important is money for you?
Well its good to have a nice bank balance at my age, along with fame, fun, future projects, and a lavish lifestyle. What else can a young girl dream of? Usually youngsters of my age would be still studying or at best crossing over from company to another company for a job or else working in a call center. But in my case I have bought a car of my own. I am invited to most celeb parties. I have people coming to me for autographs, and at the end of the day I have people like you waiting to catch my voice!

Q. How did your parents react when you signed for Ganda Hendathi and Boyfriend?
They were supportive. My Dad though is not comfortable watching me act. He always took care of me, as a princess and didn’t want me to work. He always wanted to look after me. In fact both my parents pamper me a lot. My mother was fine with it. She is my backbone. Moreover I didn’t want to say ‘no’ to the offer as the director liked my face and he wanted to launch a new find. The plus point was, I knew the language. When you know the language, you can emote very well. So I guess that’s how I landed the role.

Q. Ganda Hendathi and Boyfriend is the remake of the Bollywood movie ‘Murder’. Were you fine doing bold scenes in the films?
First and foremost I am not Mallika Sherawat. It’s not that I accept all kinds of shots. I am absolutely not comfortable doing bold scenes. While doing shooting, we actors are surrounded by more than 200 crewmembers. It is actually very embarrassing. But I had to do few of the scenes, as the concept wanted it. I just went with the flow.

Q. You are famous as the Mallika Sherawat of the Kannada film industry.
Like I said earlier I am not Mallika Sherawat, its just that during the first 15 days of the release of the movie people started calling me by that name, because I had taken on her role. It was just media hype. I just want all of you to keep in mind that I am only Sanjana.

Q. Are you trying your luck in Bollywood?
(Laughs loud) Not so soon, yaar. I am only one movie old! I need to polish myself.

Q. Do you plan to join any acting schools?
No ways. Acting schools are just for time pass. Especially, Mumbai is a place where acting schools are a meeting place for boys and girls. And most of the stuff they teach actually goes above our heads. My director Ravi Srivatsa helped me to act and he really taught me the basics. I guess if I get good directors who can give me lessons on the job, I can outgrow the need for for these so called acting schools.

Q. What about your future projects?
I am doing Om Prakash’s ‘Kempegowda’ with Sudeep. Talks are on for a Ravichandran Jaggesh film “Tata Birla”. I am also doing a Tamil film with Supergood Movies with Ramesh as my co-star.