If you don't approve, don't look: Neetu Chandra

Actor Neetu Chandra set the ramp on fire as she walked down in a back-and-white dress designed by Soumitra Mondal on Day 3 of the Kolkata Fashion Week (KFW) II. The Garam Masala girl in conversation with India Blooms correspondent Sreya Basu. Photograph: Avishek Mitra

What kind of a person are you fashion-wise?
I am a casual person -- denim and T-shirt type. When it comes to choosing something else, I go dressy -- something nice and subtle, that I can carry even when I am hitting the gym or playing basketball or partying with friends.

The media's a-buzz, say you have put on weight...
Put on weight? No. In fact, I have shed a lot of weight. And as it is, we actors have to work on our bodies as per our character in the film. In Garam Masala I needed a perfectly toned figure, then I did Traffic Signal where I play a slum-dweller, so had to put on weight. Accordingly, I worked on my body weight for One Two Three and Oye Lucky... and 13B. Body weight is just one of the nuances that we have to follow according to the demand of our profession. As it is, I don't believe in size zero.

Your bikini photoshoots have created waves.
I only do things that I am comfortable with. But the problem is, people who criticise me themselves don't know what I will look good in, and suggest an alternative to the bikini.

Not only bikini, but recently one of your photoshoots with a woman raised eyebrows.
I have never asked anyone to like everything I do. I do what I am comfortable with. If you don't approve, don't look at my pictures.

What are the releases you have this year?
I have six releases this year, including Ram Gopal Verma's Rann, Nari Hira's Apartment, Mumbai Cutting and another Vipul Shah film. The seventh one will be Anees Bazmee's No Problem with Sanjay Dutt. I am currently shooting in South Africa for the film.

Are you planning to buy anything from Soumitra's collection?
I would love to, but I don't have money to buy clothes. May be he (Soumitra) will have to gift my showstopper dress to me; but I won't force him.