When it comes to love, Kangana Ranaut believes in shooting straight from the heart! And what better than Valentine's Day to talk about her idea of love, how she deals with heartache and the dark side of this emotion, which has also been explored in her upcoming film, Rangoon. Excerpts from a candid chat with the feisty actress...

What's your definition of love?
Love is hard to define. It's not like you can't do it, but you won't be able to do justice to the feeling. The most amazing and purest form of love is a mother's, which we experience from the moment we are born. Our first encounter in life is with love. My idea of love is not very different from that. The purpose can change, the nature of it changes, but the essence remains the same.

Are you a romantic who believes in the idea of V-Day, or a realist who thinks it's grossly commercialised?
When I was younger, it meant a lot more. Now I don't think it holds as much significance; you don't wait for a Valentine to propose to you. In our age group, it unfolds differently.

Rangoon explores the various shades of love through your character Julia's relationships. How much do you identify with it?
My character Julia is very relatable and that's the best thing about Vishal Bhardwaj's films. Julia finds it hard to fit in, something that contemporary women will identify with. In reality, I have come from the mountains and if I can speak English, wear make-up or walk in heels today, it's because I have tried hard to fit in.

Julia is in love with these two men, but the nature of love is different in both the situations. With Rustom (Saif Ali Khan), it's more parasitic, where they both need each other and feed off each other's insecurities. That can make for a very strong bond and it also makes two people inseparable. One can misunderstand this 'need' for love.

Have you experienced something like that in your life?
I have been in an equation where I saw the person was doing a lot for me and I felt obliged to respond to that desire from his end, and I misunderstood it for love. Yes, I have been in a situation where someone is addressing your insecurities and convincing you that you are the best. In that sense, he was basically telling me whatever I wanted to hear at that point. Or helping me financially as a friend or in whatever capacity. I responded thinking that was the best thing to do as it seemed like love. But no, that surely wasn't love. Love has to be instinctive, like the love that Julia experiences with Nawab (Shahid Kapoor) in the film. It's not because she is getting something out of it, or he is fulfilling some purpose. They just flow, and that kind of love brings out the best in human beings. Such love also makes us the best version of ourselves.

Love also brings along with it heartache at times. How do you deal with that?
Well, I am very blessed. I tend to get over it really quickly! When I am in a relationship, I am really into it, but when it's over, I never look back. I have a record of never going back to my exes, never meeting them again. All my exes want to get back with me, that's also a record I hold (laughs). I take one week to get over a relationship even if it may have lasted for seven years. I truly believe there is a lot to life. The reason I get over a relationship so easily is because when I am in it, I give it my all and if it doesn't work out, I know there is nothing I can do about it. So, I never have the impulse to go back because I live with the satisfaction that I have done my best. That part of me is completely sorted.

Rangoon is also said to tap the dark side of love. What do you have to say about the dark side of this emotion?
The film is set in an era when there was extreme segregation among people. Julia is an actor, who is looking to get rid of her background. She is desperate to be Mrs Billimoria. The dark love that she shares with him (Saif) is something I totally understand. He doesn't have a hand and has given her that mask, that whip, which is somewhere symbolic of the pain and the dark love that they share. There is a scene where she whips herself to the point that she starts to bleed. Her silhouette with that whip and mask has a bit of an erotic undercurrent because that is how her lover looks at her. Dark love can be extremely fulfilling on one level, but also very hollow on another. The film, as I said, shows the pure form of love, which sets you free.

Do you secretly wish that someday, you'll experience this pure kind of love that you just spoke about?
I am in a relationship like that. It has already happened to me.

Marriage plans?
I want to get married this year and hopefully, it should happen.