Sakshi Chaudhary talks about her Tollywood comeback, performing for action sequences, eventful childhood and Bollywood film.

How`s it like making a Tollywood comeback?

It`s always fantastic. Even while I was doing Potugadu`, I enjoyed working with people here and it`s always nice to work in Telugu movies.

What made you sign the film?

The character I was playing drove me to sign the film. Not many actresses get to play such a role and I just did it. I play a gangster from Dubai. The story is about how she comes from the gangster group and gets into a family and how she proceeds. The film has everything – emotion, drama, love and off-course the action sequences.

How cool is working with Naresh?

It was wonderful. I think as an actor, it`s very important to have a comfort level with your co-star, and it`s only then the on-screen chemistry works out well. I had great comfort level while shooting and Naresh did not make me feel like I`m new to the industry.

How different is Sakshi from her debut film?

Not a lot (laughs). But when I`m angry, I could relate to my character in this film James Bond. In fact, that made things easy for me to perform the character.

Interesting moments on the sets ?

Recently, we were shooting a scene in an elevator and things could have gone bad. There was an electrical sang and lift was stopped. The cables and wires came out and everybody got scared. And then the lift started without our knowledge. It was scary!

Have you been trained for action episodes?

I was trained by Vijay master for one day. He wanted to see my body language and how I would perform for the scenes. Holding a gun wasn`t very technical so it was fine. I somehow managed with the language now, but with action episodes, I`m getting better and hopefully I get better.

Anything interesting happening in Bollywood?

I`m doing a film with Ismail Darbar. He`s a music director but directing and producing a Bollywood film, and it`s an action based role as well. Fortunately, I`m getting films that are women-centric.

You seemed to be moving away from glam roles?

Yeah, I just can`t dance and do nothing in the film. I want something to perform and that`s why I took some time to sign films. It`s wonderful and I`m lucky to be able to get such a script and continue with it.

How do you spend leisure?

I do a lot of Internet surfing as I like to know about the world and I like knowing about History, Cosmology - little technical that way. I also like to travel and read a lot. I like sea, mountains and I was born in a place surrounded by mountains and close to the river, so I`m attached to everything and that includes nature I guess. I`m very much passionate about travelling. There were times that I just randomly backpack and just go alone for a trip. Three years back, before coming into the industry, I went to a Mcleodganj, a hill station in Dharamsala. It was wonderful. I`m comfortable being myself. Some people say how can I go alone for a trip, how can I go alone for a movie, but I think I can anything alone and I feel much happier doing things alone. Friends are ok, but at I also want to spend time for myself.

Hyderabad seems like your second home?

Yeah, kind of. I never saw Hyderabad until I came to shoot for Potugadu`. I had a different perception about the city, but when I came here I fell in love with the city. I could see a few areas in the city pretty similar to my hometown Dehradun. So I could connect with the city and I told all my friends that Hyderabad is the best city to live in, and not Mumbai or Delhi.

How did acting bug bite you?

I knew nothing about acting but when I came through Gladrags, I did some modeling. And after a few months, I`ve done a commercial. Then, I realized that I enjoyed doing such things which gives me freedom to express myself and I just fell in love with acting in commercials. I knew that I had to do it no matter what and I forgot everything and made my way.

How did you get into showbiz?

My brother (cousin) was going for a Gladrags competition and he asked me to come along. He did not win the competition but surprisingly I won it but I don`t know how that happened (smiles). I came back to college and completed my studies. Later, I started getting calls from Mumbai. It`s surprising and I`m still wondering what made me to take such a big step of coming into showbiz and move to Mumbai, but I guess it worked out well.

Tell us about your childhood?

I was born in Dehradun and I moved to Delhi for my studies. I stayed in a hostel and my college days were fabulous. When I was into third year of graduation, I got into Gladrags and things happened from there. I still have not completed my graduation (laughs) but hopefully I will be able to finish off. I think I`m blessed with a good life and I`m thankful for that.