Fun Forward Emails

Hot Shehnaz Treasurywala Radio Movie Promotion

You have been a VJ, did that help you to play an RJ?
It did. I have been a VJ since I was 16. Hosting shows is in my blood. I can host shows standing on my head, you can wake me up in the middle of the night, I'll start hosting in my sleep. But that was just my character's profession; the real challenge was getting into her head and portraying her deepest emotions as honestly and truthfully as I could.

Karzzzz bombed at the box office, aren't you worried about the fate of Radio?
As an actor, you do your best to bring the character to life in the most truthful way you can, and in this film I've done everything to breathe life into Shanaya and to make her a three-dimensional person. Everything else is irrelevant. There are so many factors, so many variants that make a film successful. Most of them are out of my control. I don't see the point in worrying about it.

In Radio, Himesh has used a non-nasal tone. Comment.
Radio is his best album ever. The music is outstanding. It is the no 1 selling album. His singing in Radio beats everything he has done so far and wins hands down!

Any other interests or hidden talents?
I won my first camera when I was 8. My dad didn't allow me to use his, so when I came across the Goldspot slogan competition, I took part. I still use a manual SLR. No digital for me. Call me old fashioned. I also keep a diary and no, you cannot peep into it (Laughs). I've written a couple of screenplays. At one point, I thought I wanted to be a journalist, I have a degree in literature and journalism. I'm very outdoorsy. Not fond of shoes or bags but I love trekking and hiking. Swimming and yoga are my soul sisters. As soon as I spot a river, lake, waterfall or the sea and I tear off all my clothes and dive right in, fearlessly. I'm a water baby. I could swim before I learnt how to walk. I often travel on my own with a good book, my diary, swimsuit, my camera and lenses. I don't need anything or anybody else.

You started off with Shahid Kapoor and Amrita Rao, both of them raced ahead while you are still struggling. Where did you think you went wrong?
Being a Bollywood actress was never my only goal in life. I turned down so many roles since Ishq Vishk because I was not that interested, or because I didn't like the scripts, I was not even living in India then and didn't think the offers were worth coming back for. Shahid and Amrita were committed to becoming Bollywood stars, they were absolutely single-minded about it. I, on the other hand, have been so lucky to have so many interests and opportunities in my career. In addition to being an actress, I am an international travel host, a writer, and documentary producer and host. I have done so much career-wise, which has not been solely dedicated to Bollywood. I will continue to do so. My interests are varied and as a performer, I continue to express myself in different mediums. Just because I have not focused my entire career on Bollywood does not make me a struggler, I'm shocked you would say something like that. So, no, I have not gone wrong at all. I lead a full life and am so fortunate to be able to make a living expressing myself in so many ways.