Evicted from the Bigg Boss house, Claudia Ciesla says Bakhtyaar is a meanie but Pravesh Rana…ah well… well-meaning!

Are you relieved or sad to be out of Bigg Boss aired on Colors?

• It feels great that I’ve managed to stay in the house for 10 weeks. I missed my family. It was difficult for me since I had language issues. Of course, there were both happy and sad months. But I’d still say it has been a lifetime experience. I’m interested in Bollywood and conducted myself in a way that people understood who the real Claudia is.

Who do you think is the most vicious person in the house now?

• It’s Bakhtyaar. He is the most confusing person. Initially, he used to bitch a lot. But later on, he started reading The Bible. But even when I say Bakhtyaar is the meanest contestant, I must add that everyone has been playing a mental game. It’s not fair to be judgemental since nobody is good or bad.
Were things too close to reality in the house or did they seem very unreal?

• There were times when I felt that things that we did were unreal. We were worried about who stole my egg. In real life, one wouldn’t do such a thing. But then again, stealing an egg is very symbolic too. In reality, there are so many others stealing so many things from our lives. And don’t we end up fighting for it? Another interesting parallel with real life is that both in the Bigg Boss house as well as at the workplace, we often have to often grin and bear it.
Do you call a spade a spade?

• If I don’t like somebody, I’m not nice. I didn’t like KRK and told him that he shouldn’t speak to me. But I hate the idea of being very sweet and nice upfront and then backstab. That’s fake.
Did your perception of KRK change after he returned to the house?

• His first visit was just a promotion of himself and his movie. And I must say that he achieved his end. Saying that he would get 21 sets of clothes because he wanted to be in the house for 21 days was all part of his promotional strategy. What I absolutely loathed about him was the way he threw bottles. If I don’t like someone, I will use my wits, words and not use brute force to express discontent. During his second visit, KRK was more his actual self. He washed his clothes and broke bread with us too.
Are you in love with Pravesh Rana?

• I’m not in love with Pravesh. We are of the same age group. Two days after he entered the house, we were sent to jail. Twenty four hours behind bars with him brought us closer. Since both of us have a modelling background, we had lots to share too.
Was the are-we are-we-not-in-love ambiguity only a ruse to jack up TRPs?

• No, not at all. It wasn’t any PR thing. We were getting bored since there was absolutely nothing else to do. Pravesh and I are good friends like Aditi (Govitrikar) and Bakhtyaar (Irani).
Did you flirt with him?

• No. We are very focussed in life. My career and education are important. I have no time for love. It’s the same with Pravesh too.
So what does Pravesh being a timepass mean?

• Oh! I thought it meant spending time with him. Actually, we’ve often used the word casually. We say stuff like let’s have tea as timepass. I never thought that the word could have a negative connotation.
Is the dinner date with him still on?

• Pravesh lost the wager. Let’s see what happens now.
Has this show made you more of a gossip-monger?

• It’s about how you interpret the word gossip. If gossip means talking about people, it’s a positive attribute. The term becomes negative when someone calls it bitching.
Are you in awe of Big B?

• I don’t fear him. My biggest high is to be interviewed by him. I’ve seen a few of his films. I wish I could have told him how much I loved Black.
    So much newsprint has gone into
    your Cannes meet with
    Abhishek…

• It’s past and we’ve moved on.
Between Big B and Salman Khan, who would you wish to share the frame with?

• I’ll answer that diplomatically. I will manage my dates in a manner that I end up acting with both!

Amole Gupte is creating waves with his deadly mean underworld goon act in the promo of Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Kaminey'. Amole gets into a talkative mood in the first part of this bollywoodhungama.com exclusive interview with Faridoon Shahryar. He talks about 'Kaminey' but it was 'Taare Zameen Par' that got him in a nostalgic mood. Gupte happens to be the story, script writer and dialogue writer of TZP. He also clears the air on the differences with Aamir Khan.

She's just two films old at 24. Togged in a trendy black jumpsuit, she flashes her trademark mischievous grin that reaches all the way to her eyes. Sonam Kapoor epitomises today's youth. Here's the perky and perceptive actor at her chirpy best

Have you finished unwrapping your birthday (June 8) gifts yet? Which is best one of all?
The best gift was that dad flew into Mumbai from Los Angeles for four days and then we went together to Macau.

His visit was supposed to be a surprise but in all her excitement, my manager Nisha just let it slip out. But that was very sweet of him. I got some 500 books and the most delicious home-baked carrot cake from Monika, my publicist.

At 24, how would you sum up your personality?
I was born and brought up in the film industry. I have seen dad go through a lot - I had the ringside view of his struggle and stardom. He was never aware of his super-stardom, work has been worship for him. That experience, together with my mom and sis Rhea, keeps me well-grounded. I certainly don't have any false sense of self importance.

I am very hard-working. I am like the pit bull - I never give up on anything. Like I get claustrophobic in lifts but I made sure I rode up and down in the elevator from the 38th floor hotel room in Macau recently with a brave face. I am scared of going underwater, so I will take to deep-sea diving.

The easiest perhaps is facing the camera? Your recent photo spreads have been scintillating.
Facing the camera for films surely comes easy to me because that is such a great escape. You are playing someone else! But I hate still camera. I overcame that apprehension working with Mr Bhansali when we had hundreds of photoshoots. I also don't look at myself in the mirror, I get self-critical and self-conscious.

We heard that you will be soon busying yourself in a workshop with your co-stars in Ayesha.
Ayesha is not a pure love story, it is about six or seven friends played by Ira Dubey, Amita , Lisa, Cyrus Sahukar, Arunoday Singh and Abhay Deol.

Since the film spans over 63 days, we all have to really be friends before the film goes on floors. So if we have to work together for nearly four months we should have mutual trust too. Now that Abhay is back from New York, we can hold the workshops.

How is it working for the first time with a lady director, Rajshri Ojha?
Oh, we keep discussing back stories for every character in Ayesha. I can be annoying with all my questions to the director. I used to badger Mr Bhansali and Mr Mehra too.

So Rajshri is no exception - at times she asks me when I will stop asking questions! (laughs) As for women directors , I think they make films most beautifully. I am a big Mira Nair fan because she uses space with her actors so effectively.

What's Ayesha like? Do you identify with her?
Ayesha is the Indianised version of Jane Austen's character, as you know already. Ayesha is a motherless girl who has taken care of the family. She wants to be in control - she likes everything to be perfect. She's smart and perceptive. But she challenges everybody which makes her self-destructive in a way.

How and why did Abhay Deol come into the picture?
Abhay is a brilliant actor. He can be fun and he has the confidence to carry off this role. He is a very secure actor, he knows who he is. He suits the role of Knightley aka Arjun who is a very sorted-out guy and he is at ease with Ayesha as a woman of substance.

So is Ayesha anti-marriage? What's your view about the institution of matrimony?
Ayesha definitely feels that marriage is not a merger. I am a romantic, so I too feel marriages cannot be arranged, but since I also know that my parents love me so selflessly, I will be smart about bringing home someone whom I love and of whom they approve. I will have to do a balancing act.

You are a Jane Austen fan. What do you admire about her heroines?
All her protagonists are independent, self respecting women. They read, write and play music. They have a definite sense of self-entitlement. And I am quite a feminist, so I love her work and most of my favourite authors are women writers like Sylvia Plath.

Are you doing Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Sahibaan?
Mehra speaks to me about so many films, Sahibaan is one of them. Let us see which one of these works out. But I want to with him for sure. He is extremely realistic - a good man and a great filmmaker. I want to play characters of conflict - like the ones in his films.

You have been signed up by Dharma Productions for I Hate Love Stories opposite Imran Khan. So are you prepared to get away from the traditional mould and don a bikini if "the role demands"?
Punit Malhotra is the young, earnest director of the film. It's a young man's sweet romantic take. This will be a lovely film for Imran and me. It is a love story, a date flick.

As for wearing a bikini - well I wear it in real life and I have worn angarkhas, salwar-kameez, bandana, jeans, skirts, gunjee - whatever it takes. If the character I play is on the beach - the correct gear would have to be a bikini. (squeals away naughtily).

What kind of roles are you being offered these days?
Oh absolutely anything - my sister is going through umpteen scripts offered to me. It is flattering that most of these are strong women roles.

Having been an assistant director, when will the director in you surface?
At present, I am still evolving as an actor. But the writer in me is wanting to surface. I don't know if I can be a good director because I am not so good at dealing with people. I would rather write screenplays.

This Monsoon, get ready for some wet and wild talk as Devansh Patel brings you the first of the four part exclusive series titled 'INTIMACY' featuring Minissha Lamba. Go ahead, read it. You might get your confidence back!

Monsoon as wet and wild:
In childhood, monsoon is associated with fun, getting wet in the rain and playing in it. As you grow older, the concept of monsoon becomes more romantic.

It becomes wistful, having tea with your loved one and cosying and cuddling up. Right now, I am in a very sensuous phase of monsoon. These are some of the stages of monsoon as per my observations.

Romancing with books:
I was someone who in my teenage years read a lot of Mills and Boons and I'd wish, 'Oh my God! If this perfect love only happens to me like every girl reading Mills and Boons hopes for.'

That was my idea of love that was my idea of romance with a perfect man. So you set out in your mind the Mills and Boon man who takes over, who knows what you need before you need it, who is your caretaker.

So you grow up with those ideals and come out in the real world only to find out that there is no such man. That was my first brush with romanticism.

School seductions:
My ideal romance during my teenage years was Tom Cruise. I was crazy about him. Every time I used to look at his posters, I would feel so inadequate because someone like Tom Cruise would've been so far removed from the reality of my world and existence. But then you grow up and you discover that it is possible that your ideal man is the guy next door.

The ideal man:
Today, I want a man who is completely real, who is not put on but is a self-made man. He should have worked for everything that he is today. He didn't get it easy in life from Papa. I do not have anything against other men but if both of them were kept equal, I'd be siding the self-made one.

Romanticism and Sensuality: 
There is a very fine line here. I think sensuality goes very well with romanticism. Therefore it's the more beautiful part of being sexual. It's the more emotional part of the idea of sexual.

When women feel stressed, tired or run-down, they often lose the desire of being sensual. Take time to give your body a treat; indulge yourself and awaken your five senses of smell, sound, sight, touch and taste.
Chocolates - romantic, sensual and seductive
If anyone is willing to share his chocolates voluntarily with someone else, it means he really cares for that person. That's the bottom line. When someone gives up their chocolates for you, you know that they care. Chocolates will give you a major head start on any serious seduction and is one reason why chocolate is the absolute bestseller of all time for romantic holidays of all types.

I would love to do a photo shoot with melted chocolate all over my body. You see the sensuality in the picture the moment you see it but when it comes to taking it off your body, the last thing I'll do is to take a shower in the studio where the shoot is going on.

Arousing Art:
Michaelangelo's sculpture, David, is very powerful. It is very sensual more than sexual. Whereas some of Peter Paul Ruben's paintings are very sexual in nature.

Mesmerising Massage:
When you give a massage, you are creating an intense physical and emotional connection with the recipient. You share a series of touches that result in positive emotions for both of you. This creates a comfortable, two-way bond that can translate into a stronger, healthier relationship. 
Sharing a sensual massage with your romantic partner is a great way to strengthen your romantic relationship. Massage allows you and your lover to connect in a very deep way on both the physical and emotional level.

The process of learning to share sensual touch can teach you both a lot about trust, communication, and pleasure, three of the major building blocks that make up any solid, lasting romantic partnership.

Under the water:
I felt that my Kidnap songs, 'Mausam Yeh Awesome Bada' and 'Soniya' would emulate a lot of music videos which female pop-stars have already made in the UK or America like Britney Spears, Beyonce, Jessica Simpson, Pussycat Dolls, etc.

Though I would rate 'Soniya' as a pop number but the 'Mausam' number can be termed as sensual and cinematically cliché. I love being a part of such cliché where you are under the waterfall wearing your white kurta and you're just going with the flow. Water here becomes very sexy.

Sex:
I was a fifteen year old when the first time I landed up in a conversation with my mother about 'Sex'. My mother explained the whole 'Birds and the Bees' to me.

I was shocked and I never thought it was possible. There was a time when one used to be shy and reserved about talking on such a topic but now 'sex' has become very clinical. It's a fact of life.

Sex in films:
India still needs to do a lot of running around when it comes to sex in films. I mean, it will take a good couple of years to break the shackles of sex. For the moment, we've got Rakesh Roshan's Kites coming out.
I think it's going to be the most romantic and sensual films we Indians would've seen till now in a very long time. From the West, I liked Dirty Dancing. Not because of the name but because of it's sensual nature in their dance moves.

City Of Angels too is one of my favourites. I must say this that the physical aspect of love has to be treated beautifully and you can see that happening in our Hindi cinema now and Kites is going to take it to the next level.

Private moments:
I would love a photographer to click very candid pictures of catching people in their private moments.

It can't get more romantic and erotic beyond that, because that's when your guard is down. You're just the way you want to be in that moment. You're least bothered about who's watching and who's around you.

Passionate engagements:
I have no problems when it comes to talking about sex because I am very 'open' on the subject.

Verve's undisputed power cover girl, India's highest paid, most in-demand actor; international face of the country; recipient of a myriad film awards and the big daddy of them all, a Padma Shri, reminds me of a little girl on a Ferris wheel - spinning ever upwards, almost out of control in the frenzy of her life.

Today, she is closeted in her vanity van at N. D. Studio in Karjat with make-up artist, Ojas. She is busy putting on a face, which to me seems so unnecessary!

Earlier, fresh countenanced, tired-eyed but oh so beautiful, she had made flash decisions on gowns (no saris); colours (out with that dull mauve) and silhouettes. The world's most beautiful woman (so says Julia Roberts!) standing there in black tights and silver-and-white tee, could have slipped into anything and looked like a million bucks.

She is small, slim and graveeyed and I remember reading that these, her most outstanding feature, have been donated already to science.

She was not in the best of moods, struggling to control diva- esque tendencies - probably triggered by yet another unnecessary controversy, this time at Cannes, hanging over her head like a cloud of bad hair.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is ready to shoot but only on her own terms. And, she has too much on her mind as she comes to chat.

"You just know when you are home!"
Abhishek and I have been close throughout our careers. Within a year of our being together, he proposed to me and it was an immediate yes.

In Toronto, we had the premiere of Guru and there was a screening and a press interaction in New York and we were supposed to take the flight back, when he proposed.

And he said he had a reason for that, he said he used to be in New York at that very spot thinking about the possibility of us being together. It was not about the frills but about the personal emotion deep within."

"My marriage was a glorious, fabulous, wonderful, superlative personal experience."
And having said that, the circumstances were unimaginable. I never thought I would get married in the middle of a film. You imagine you would complete your work, indulge yourself. In movies, they show this entire preparation time and the irony was that I was doing that in Jodhaa Akbar.

Ashu (director Ashutosh Gowariker) would keep saying that your craft, your kala, is preparing you for this wonderful real life moment.

So, I was the bride in my work and its wonderful how my life has made me smile so many times and made me wonder at incidents where something is going on in your life and there is an interesting parallel on your work front.

"Abhishek and I have the ability to keep things real."
Which is great and keeps our relationship what it is - an incredible friendship...we are brutally frank with each other, we are brutally frank about our life, we both have an incredible sense of humour and we have the ability to laugh with each other, at ourselves and with life and I think that is special.

"It starts with, I as an actor should want to do what I am doing, otherwise I will be cheating my work."
If I am not comfortable doing what I am doing, the camera picks up every little thing, you cannot lie to the camera.

I have been fairly radical throughout my career in terms of trying to break out of the predictable journey of a leading lady. Early on, I took up mature roles and started working in regional cinema.

It was recognized that I had a dancing prowess and I could have been the next dancing superstar but I chose subjects where the directors wanted to create a slightly different character.

"The truth is, I did not go seeking to make an inroad into Hollywood or move there."
The entire international interest in me started when Devdas went to Cannes. Coincidentally, Gurinder (Chadha) was meeting me with two script ideas at the same time. So naturally she became my first choice. It was suddenly perceived that Aishwarya has made this decision to go to Hollywood.

I said that I am open to cinema, just as I was when I did Iruvar, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. When I joined films finally, it was after Miss World and films were already coming my way.

I have virtually been invited here and to date scripts come my way and by the grace of God, I am spoilt for choice. That is the same way I choose my English films.

I am sure people have wondered why I have said no to biggies like Will Smith, Michael Douglas, Rush Hour 3 or Troy. But, I had committed my time to Indian films.

"A day off is totally husband time and family time."
When we were in Chennai shooting for Guru, we went with Abhishek's friends from college time, to the theatre and we watched movies back to back, just that one evening we went from one theatre to the next in this multiplex

Abhishek and I love music and I have an incredibly full iPod now thanks to him. I have never been pseudo enough to say I like only English music and popular tracks of the time but also old classics and Hindi music of earlier times.

We also genuinely love watching movies. But most of all, we just love spending time together. Both of us are very talkative and we have to give each other time to speak before piping in.

"Professionally what was wonderful was being bestowed with the Padma Shri."
People from the fraternity said you are the youngest from the industry to have received it thus far. I owe it to my parents and I devote it to them. It was very special when my in-laws said we welcome the fifth Padma Shri into the family.

And I am blessed with the best husband in the world because it reflects on his strength that he can stand by his woman on a public platform at every given opportunity and applaud her.

With a tight film schedule ahead, the actor will face the year with the cylinders that drive her, on full blast. While her achievements have been large, one wonders, what next?

With fresh faces bombarding the movie going public's sensibility; will Aishwarya now appeal to a more mature audience? Not an older audience minds you, just a more mature one.... While the choices she makes today may be more critical than ever before, destiny's child is not worrying any.