Taapsee Pannu, 26, may not have visited South India prior to doing films there, but she now speaks Telugu fluently and has managed to be the leading lady in many Telugu and Tamil films. She is not only transparent and intelligent, but also impatient, short-tempered and unpredictable. While she is dominating, she is happy to be bossed around by her younger sister Shagun, but with others, if insulted, she can be quite revengeful. She loves studying and still hopes to do her MBA some day. Ahead of her upcoming thriller Baby, she talks to Bombay Times about her dream of working with Mani Ratnam, how she will never get married to a sardar and why she will start her life afresh outside India some day. Excerpts:

How did you come into films?
I am a jat sikhni, born and brought up in Delhi. I used to have really curly, long hair, but somewhere in my heart, I always wanted to cut my hair. My whole Sunday used to pass in just washing, oiling and all that. I went ahead and cut it without asking my parents. I told them that there was a chewing gum stuck in my hair, so, I had to get it cut. My father is a proper sikh. I never thought I could be an actor as I was always a studious geek and was always interested in Mathematics. I did my software engineering from IP University, but realised in second year of college that I didn't like sitting in front of a computer and wanted to pursue an MBA. So, I gave my CAT exam, but could not get admission into a college of my choice in my first attempt. So, I decided to sit home for a year and prepare for CAT the next year. I was a public speaker at school and would take part in all the festival competitions. I had learnt Kathak for eight years from one of Birju Maharaj's disciples and was always a multi-tasker. While in college, I had started modelling for ads to make some pocket money.

I have always been the kind who does ten things at the same time. So, during the one year that I was at home, I started getting lots of offers from the South for films. I decided to give it a shot and was launched in a Tamil film with Dhanush in Aadukalam, a film that won many National awards. I had told my dad that I would try films for a year. If it didn't click, I would come back to doing my MBA. But, before my first film had come out, I had already signed three more films and then there was no looking back. If you click in the South, they will do anything to get you. Puri Jagannadh then recommended my name to David Dhawan who was looking for a Preity Zinta looking girl for Chashme Baddoor. Right from my eigth standard, people would look at me and say that I looked like Preity Zinta. David sir met me and in my first meeting, without any audition, he told me that I was on.

How did you get Baby?
I have not given any audition for any of my films and whenever I have given an audition, I have never been selected for those movies. Baby is the first film in my career that I really chased. I found out about this character and movie, and came to know that they were auditioning for this role. Neeraj sir never thought I could do this character as he felt that I was too coy to do this role. I met the casting director, convinced him and then I read out some dialogues to Neeraj sir and within two hours of meeting him, I was a part of Baby. I would have been disheartened had I not got selected and it's a very important movie for me.

Your experience working in Telugu cinema?
Telugu cinema can really spoil you. They treat you like a queen. As soon as you get down from your van, they will all stand up and they won't sit till you have passed by. I love that attention and miss that.

Have you been in relationships?
Always, right from when I was in Class IX. My first relationship was the only one when the guy broke up with me and that was a big hit to my ego. After that I made sure that no guy will do that to me. I can get a little revengeful and I made sure that I took my revenge in my way with that first guy who calls me till date to remind me of the revenge ka effect.

How difficult was it for you to start your life in the South all by yourself?
My dad works in a real estate company and is even now doing a normal job and my mom is a housewife. My father had never even let me go for night spends with my friends in Delhi. So, for him to let his daughter go out to South and stay all by myself was a big deal. I stayed in Hyderabad alone for the first year. I was just 22 then. When you suddenly uproot yourself from your house where you get so much attention and love, you suddenly crave for that in your new place. Your parents love you, but they are not immediately around you, so, you very easily fall in love with someone who shows you love there. Which is what I did. I got into a relationship that backfired badly. All of a sudden when you are in a new city with new language and new people, you fall for that someone who shows you extra care and concern. I never thought I was gullible but I know that I trust people easily and take people on face value. I get attracted to honesty. The good thing is that I have no hangover after a break up, not even for a week. When it's over, it's over. After the first relationship when I was revengeful, it has only been me who has always called it off.

Does marriage figure in your life?
Yes, definitely. I have a very normal idea of life. But I will when I want to and not because I have to. It will happen when I am done with acting and have enjoyed this profession enough. I will then uproot myself from this country and profession and start a new life from scratch. I want to start a new life and want to do more in life than just being an actress. Whether I get married or not, I always wanted to get out of India as after becoming an actress, you can't live a normal life here. I don't want so much attention on me when I start a new life. I anyways have no strings attached and get detached very easily. Other than Lakshmi Manchu, my first producer, I don't have a single friend in the industry . But I could tell you that I don't see myself getting married to a sardar. I have never even dated a sardar. I have dated a South Indian. Also I have never dated a star and will never date one and that I can write and give you on a stamp paper. I am clear that there can be only one star in the relationship and that's me. I personally don't think it can work out between an actor and an actress.

Who are you most emotionally attached to?
My sister Shagun whom I tagged along with me from Delhi to Hyderabad, and now to Mumbai, as I really can't live without her. I have grown up with her and we are best friends. Even though she was younger to me by four years, we have always shared our clothes and friends. She is more matured and responsible than I am. I am more clumsy and a brat type as compared to her. She is also the favourite of my parents as they know that she will look after everything. Even though she is younger, I am the one who listens to her.

How do your parents respond to your being self made?
I have strong willpower and they know that I have the confidence to pull it off. They feel, 'Yeh kya kar liya isne?' I used to get the highest marks in my family and yet I chose to do something like this, so, they just get shocked seeing what all I can do. I have the line up of maximum trophies in my house, be it academics or co curricular, so they just get amazed and always wonder what I will do next.

Any plans for the future?
I am a very impatient person. If I would not have got things sitting at home on a platter, I didn't have the patience to struggle. My luck line is stronger than my life line. My luck line is actually longer and stronger than my life line. I love studying and still want to do an MBA some day. I had thought that sitting at home for that one year after engineering would have been a bad year but it turned out to be the best year of my life. I am not a person who sits and regrets. I quickly move onto something else. My whole life is not about one thing at one time. I shift focus easily and quickly move onto doing other things. If movies had not worked out in the first year, I would have done something else as I don't have the patience to wait. Nothing can bog me down so much. I am a happy person and there is not even one day when I have gone back home not feeling happy. I always find a reason to be happy before I sleep. For me, happiness is a choice that is in your hands. I also know that I cannot afford to make the wrong choice of movies as I neither have a big surname or a big banner to bank upon, nor have I had a big star debut and I am not dating a big star. I am a clear-thinking person and am practical. I know that I will not get a second chance.

Is there somebody you really want to work with?
I really want to work with Hrithik Roshan. Also I don't have the guts to walk up to a director and tell him that I want to work with him, but I really want to work with Mani Ratnam as he makes such heart-wrenching love stories.