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Here is a recent interview of Ayesha Takia and the actress talks about Dor, her upcoming film Salaam-E-Ishq and boyfriend Farhan Azmi.

Dor was totally unexpected, what made you do a film like that?
I would have loved to do this kind of a film at any time, but I was never given a chance. Everyone just slots me in this glamorous, bubbly role, which is really great and lots of fun, but I would have done this film anytime it came along.      

How did you cope with the Rajasthan heat?
I really don’t know. It was an experience, I really wonder how we did it, the temperature was sometimes 48 to 50 degrees celsius. I can’t bear the sun, so it was really difficult and I think I worked the hardest in terms of location. We worked round the clock and took smaller lunch breaks and it was really bad. But I think it all paid off in the end.

Salaam-e-Ishq has a lot of actors. Does that mean less work or less attention?
If you are in a film where there are three and a half people, but you are still the typical glamour heroine standing in the background, or there is a film where there are six couples and each girl has an identity, then that makes more sense for me. SeI is not a Shaadi No. 1 where there are six people and all of them come out as jokers. In this film every person has a background, they have a future, they have an identity, and you know what they are all about. So there’s a lot more to do, even if you have a shorter screen space.

You are paired Akshay Khanna, who is known to be a reserved young man. How is it working with him?
He’s to himself, and I respect that. I like people who do their thing, come here, be professional and go back home. That’s the way I like to work too. He is a really talented actor. He suits Shiven like nobody else. I think he’s awesome in the film.

Tell me about your character in Salaam-e-ishq.
In ‘Salaam-e-Ishq’ I play a girl named Gia. She’s a very socialite kind of girl who wears only branded clothes and carries matching bags and heels and does her hair straight and right make up. She comes from a very big family and moves around in the right kind of circles, but she’s not the type of girl who’s stuck up, she’s gorgeous. She’s just a girl who’s really sweet and she’s madly in love with this guy called Shiven. Her life revolves around being in love with this guy who’s a Casanova. Our story is like any modern day relationship.

You’re always referring to your boyfriend, how much his love makes you happy. If you’re so happy and you’re going out with him all the time and he has two restaurants, how come you don’t eat?
Oh I eat like crazy, I eat a lot, I can’t stop myself from eating. You live one life, and you need to eat. There’s so much good food around you. Few people really get a chance to eat good food. So I always eat, but I try to put in a workout whenever I can.

Are you getting married to Farhan Azmi soon?
Everybody asks me that. I have just been very blatant about the fact that I believe in marriage a lot. It’s a great thing. But right now, I am 21, I am working and a lot of new stuff is happening in my work, and mentally I don’t think I am prepared to settle down but I do look forward to that definitely. I don’t know when it will happen, who knows about the future, it could be tomorrow, it could be 10 years from now, and it could be 2 years or 5 years from now.

You are a very happy, vivacious girl, where do you get all that from?
It’s very easy to be happy, when you have people who care about you and cushion your life and make you comfortable and make sure no problems come to you. I am just fortunate.

So who are these people who make you happy?
Definitely my mother, she’s always with me. Everyone knows that. So she’s there, and my sister Natasha, my boyfriend Farhan, my dad’s always working and partying a lot, but he’s there. Basically if you have a strong family and people who love you and make sure no problems come to you, you can be happy, there’s no problem.

Who’s your biggest critic?
(Laughs) It would have to be my mom because she’s always with me, so she’s the person who praises me the most and criticizes me the most. And you need that. Because otherwise you’d me blind. Everyone around you is always telling you good things about yourself and you really lose sight of what’s right, so it’s important to have that.

Any idols among actresses?
I have never been this kind of person who thinks I want this or that kind of a career. I know God has given me a lot and I am enjoying right now. If I don’t enjoy it tomorrow, then I will give it all up in a second. So it’s not that I am thinking that I want to be number one in the rat race, I am not a rat.

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