Pooja Hegde is amused that her date diary is chock-a-block in the middle of a pandemic. Currently filming Radhe Shyam in Italy, she will kick off the shoot of Rohit Shetty's Cirkus when she returns to the bay next month. "I love Rohit Shetty films. My dad and I watched Simmba together, and we were hooting at Ajay Devgn's entry. I had first met Rohit at Ramoji [Film City] in Hyderabad a few years ago. This offer came my way out of the blue," says Hegde, who will team up with Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez and Varun Sharma in the laugh riot.

Given how different the worlds of Shakespeare and Shetty are, one wonders what The Comedy Of Errors looks like when viewed through the filmmaker's lens. "It will be a masala film; it's his version rather than an adaptation. Plus, we have a complimentary dose of Ranveer's energy on set," she laughs.

After making her Bollywood debut with Mohenjo Daro (2016), Hegde went missing from the Hindi film circuit, resurfacing last year with Housefull 4. Ask her how she emerged stronger after the debacle of the Hrithik Roshan-starrer, and she says, "An actor's first film is their show-reel to the world. I was under contract, so I hadn't signed another film during the period. Its failure was heart-breaking. Eventually, South films came along, and work attracted more work. I held off signing Hindi films because I needed a sturdy second movie. I built on the success of Housefull 4, and here I am!"