With Singh is Bliing Lara (SIB), Dutta Bhupathi ended her three-year hiatus from films. The actress' strikingly different avatar in the comic caper has people breaking into bouts of laughter. Here she speaks about Emily, her crazy onscreen character and what went into playing it.

As a nerdy Emily, you've been quite a revelation in SIB. People have liked your performance.
I'm overwhelmed by the reaction, I hadn't expected it. When Akshay (Kumar) spoke to me about this role, I wondered what I could possibly be doing in a film like SIB (laughs). The moment I heard the character of Emily (the translator), who is crazy, geeky and frumpy, I told myself this shouldn't be done in half measure. If I throw myself under the bus, I might as well enjoy being run over! I had to go all out and shoot the film with a broken foot. I just surrendered myself to Prabhu Dheva.

The character didn't entail you to look attractive.
It's nice to break away from the glamorous image. I've been working for 13 years and it's good to get an opportunity to act as opposed to be just another pretty face. I had the freedom to make that character look believable, instead of a caricature.

You debuted in Andaaz with Akshay Kumar. Your chemistry with him has evolved over the years.
He was already a superstar back then and had an aura around him but it went away immediately as we found this natural connect with each other. We share an easy kind of friendship, which is hard to find, especially in the film industry. He is the only man who gets away with calling me Laaru.