Completely unabashed, sexy and provocative are some of the words that can be used to describe Sherlyn Chopra. However, when she made a brief trip home for her father’s death anniversary, the Hyderabadi seemed more astute and honest. Best known for her nudity, scoop with Playboy and with her 1.22 million strong army of followers on Twitter, Sherlyn didn’t waste the opportunity and touched base with her fans in the city to share details about her next project Bad Girl.
“I play the protagonist who is a bundle of contradictions. Her character is very homely yet she is a supermodel. It was this trait about her personality that got me attracted to the film,” shares Sherlyn.
The film that begins shooting May-end, is loosely-based on Malena which starred the Italian actress Monica Bellucci. To be shot in Malayalam and dubbed in Tamil and Telugu, the project required Sherlyn to take up lessons in Malayalam. “Although I don’t know Malayalam, I said yes to the film as the director convinced me that all that truly mattered was conviction and sincerity to emote,” says the 30-year-old who is now based in Mumbai.
However, it wasn’t just films that kept the actress quite chirpy through the conversation; Sherlyn was very pleased to be back home.
“I got to spend time with my sister and family. I also visited my father’s grave as it was his death anniversary,” shares Sherlyn.
Calling them her backbone, the actress said it was her family’s support that got her as far. “My family is very proud of me. I choose to lead my life on my own terms and I’m very grateful for the unconditional support they have given me. Our bond is very strong as they know the real me.”
As we get talking further about her past and growing up years, Sherlyn surprises us by saying that she was actually an ugly duckling. “I was the exact opposite of what I’m today. I was an ugly duckling. I never had many friends as people thought I was boring or that I was a psychopath. Books were my best friends.” Recalling her excellent academic record (“I was the school topper,” she tells us), at some point Sherlyn admits to being disillusioned by studies. “It was only after a certain point that I became fed up. That’s when I wanted to explore my sexuality.”
And then she surprises us again when she says, “If I hadn’t been in this profession, I would have been a lawyer. Even now when I get the chance, I try and read some books on law and read the civil sections.”
In her current profession, Sherlyn has explored more than one avenue of creativity. She released her music single ‘Bad Girl’ last year. In fact, the makers of her next project decided name the film after the starlet’s song and have also signed her on to sing the title track of the movie.
“They have agreed to let me sing the title track. In the future, I would like to associate myself with film projects that let me act as well as sing,” she adds.
When we finally get around to asking her about her choice of movies and her bold avatar, Sherlyn quite simply tells us that nudity isn’t so much about shedding one’s clothes but is really more a state of mind.
“I play the sex goddess Kaamdevi in Kamasutra 3D. I have no problem with my nakedness. Nudity is just a state of being and is not related to the true mettle of a person,” she says unperturbed.
For the future, she hopes to work with new talent that is not prejudiced towards sexuality, nudity, homosexuality and so on. But before she dashed off to enjoy the rest of her holiday, she also quipped in her two cents about the upcoming elections.
“If I had to campaign for any political party, it would be for Obama. There is no code of conduct in Indian politics and I find it very disorganised.”