That would be limiting myself if I tell myself I am this. I feel I am a trailblazer and like to do unexpected things. Turning musician was an interesting thing to do because I do sing. My choice of movies has always been the challenging parts and different sort of roles. I am a creative person and would like this creativity to extend to everything. I like to experiment with my work. But yes, I pick and choose work - my work has to be an extension of me. On a personal level, I am continuously exploring who I am.

I was 17 when mom entered me into the Femina Miss India Contest and I was Miss World within a year. I debuted in the Tamil film Thamizhan in 2002. The following year, I was in The Hero, my first Hindi film release, and followed it Andaaz, which got me the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award and a nomination for the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award. At that time I did not know a thing. At that time I aspired to be an engineer or a psychiatrist. I am what I am because and despite the work I do. I treat my work like a very spiritual experience. And pursuing my work that way has made me accumulate a lot of love and affection. I just want to excel at what I do. On the flipside of being famous is the constant judging by people. But I have learnt to deal with it my way - which is just ignore it. I go ahead and do anything I feel like, but just hide it really well. I've learned how to keep what's personal to me, personal. In general, I am proud of my choices.

When ABC came to me with ‘Quantico’, I told them I want to be taken seriously as an actor, which should have nothing to do with my ethnicity. I am part Indian and part American in Quantico, but my Indian-ness has nothing to do with the story. I hope people like it and it does well. But, it’s still new to me and I’m not sure if the world is ready for it. Also, the fact that it is not a film, it is a TV show and at the moment I am not sure about where the story is headed. But at this stage I am thinking of this line from Calvin & Hobbes that says 'Any road followed precisely to its end leads precisely nowhere'. So I am enjoying the journey.

Very honestly, neither. I realise my work has a responsibility and the fact that women should have freedom is something I believe more and more people are agreeing to. Our cinema is reflecting that. We have so many filmmakers who also are women and portray things that affect them. I am just pure lucky that I am offered these roles. Or perhaps, they know I am a no-nonsense person. (laughs) But seriously, times are changing. A heroine is not a prop to support the hero to be one. She is an entity in her own right. I choose to do films that have stories that need to be told. Mary Kom, for instance, was an inspirational film about an icon who became famous much after she was a world champion - a five-time world champion at that! I like being part of stories about every girl out there that is going to say, "I'm not going to be limited." So Mary Kom was a film about empowerment. Dil Dhadakne Do was also about a what a woman can do, how she can soar if given the gift of wings. In real life, I am an example of that. My conservative Punjabi family was not really keen I should be in the movies. But once they were sure that I was sure, they were the wind beneath my wings.

At this stage, all I can say is the whole experience of being directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali has been over whelming. He has such an eye for details, for beauty that it is indeed a learning experience. My look was totally revamped. I am mostly wearing Peshwai-style Navvari sarees - that are 11 metres long! The jewelry was sourced from traditional jewelers in Nashik & Pune. There was a specialist in Maharashtrian attire who was there to help me all along and she would speak with me only in Marathi - so I got to polish my linguistic skills.

As the first wife in the film, I was encountering new emotions to portray. That was to an extent draining. To bring Kashibai's personality on screen was the hardest part. There was not much known about her. I am playing a woman from times when they weren't allowed to say so much. So it is mostly expressions. Firstly exploring a character that people did not know much about was tough. Then finding those emotions within myself was really hard. For the first few days of the shoot, I found it difficult to have conversations with people because I was emotionally drained.

I was very excited! And contrary to what people may think, I had no apprehensions about playing Kashibai despite never having done a historical film before. But then I don’t do easy. Challenges bring out the best in me. You just have to say “it is not your cup of tea” for me to get up in an instant and say “okay let’s do this”.

I would love to sing in Hindi movies. I sang a lori (lullaby) in Mary Kom, which came as a crucial part of the film. It's a very intimate conversation between the mother and child and yes, it was fun. It has a good tune and I often recalled the lori my mom used to sing to me. Then Dil Dhadakne Do was essentially Farhan Akhtar's idea. In fact, he is the one who actually pushed me and encouraged me to sing. We used to jam together a lot on the sets of Don. But coming back to your question, I would jump at any opportunity to sing in films.