Shailendra Singh of this company had heard that I had a script ready. He asked to meet me. I met him with lot of apprehension. I thought I should not work with a mainstream production company, especially one that was a huge conglomerate. I thought I would make it difficult for him to say yes to my project.

So I said I wanted to have the final cut of the film, hoping within myself he would reject the idea. He shocked me saying that he would allow me that, and he wanted to make the film exactly the way I wanted. And he kept his word.

You have spoken occasionally about your upbringing and how much of influence it continues to have on you.

I was raised in a family in which my parents told me and my younger brother that we should never be afraid to ask questions. The freedom we had to ask questions mattered a lot. There were always discussions in the house but not in a judgmental tone. My parents were always inclusive.

What else shaped you most by way of upbringing?

They never put pressure on us to excel, never telling us that we should come first in the class and that sort of a thing. I never grew up listening to words such as career and money was never seen as a driving force. But our parents always said that we should enjoy what we do and be passionate about.

Did you see many films with your parents?

[Smiles] There was always a lot of art at home but we hardly saw any movies. I was not thus exposed to the mainstream, popular films. And that has had an important impact on my life as an actress.

Also Read: 'John, Abhishek act gay in Dostana'

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