'I take rumours with a pinch of salt'

The sensuous Sophie Chaudhary is not just into singing, anchoring and acting. Recently, she made her theatre debut as well.

The multi-faceted lady, who was in Bangalore for a product launch, spoke to Metrolife about her tryst with theatre, her upcoming projects and her alleged link-up to international popstar Peter Andre.

She plays a pivotal role in the play 1888 Dial India, that was staged in Mumbai recently. It has been directed by Anubhav Paul, who wrote the film, The President Is Coming. “From a tough corporate, to an actress, to a nun and a 13-year-old American girl, I play six different roles.”

She even had to learn different accents for these roles. “The corporate is a Britisher, while the teenager is an American.”

Sophie finds theatre very different from cinema. “It forces you to think as you can’t repeat the same act,” she quips.

Any chances of the play hitting Bangalore? “We are just hoping to travel with it as many people want to see it.” Speaking of Bangalore, Sophie loves Bangalore. “For the people here, it’s becoming less green but for us from Mumbai, it’s still as clean and green as ever,” she laughs.

And it’s not just theatre that’s keeping Sophie busy. She has her hands full with Bollywood projects and a music album. “My next movie Daddy Cool, hits the theatres on August 28,” she says excitedly. “It’s a situational comedy about a funeral that has gone wrong.” She is also shooting for a Bobby Bedi film, opposite Rishi Kapoor. “It’s a dream come true to work with him,” she exclaims. “Then there is Sanjay Gupta’s Alibaug, in which I feel I have played the best character so far.”

Sophie loves working in multi-starrers as she gets to learn a lot from an ensemble cast.
“Gone are the days of films with a single hero and heroine. I’d rather be in a multi-starrer with a fantastic story than a film with a bad script revolving around me.”

She’s very excited about her upcoming album as well. “Unlike my last album which consisted of remixes like Ek Pardesi, I wanted to do an album with original numbers,” informs the lady, who has collaborated with Rishi Rich Project and Gaurav Das Gupta on the album.

Recalling the late 90s, when she first made it big with a girl band called Sansaara, she says, “It was a good time as people were more open to pop.”

Some of her favourite singers include Nazia Hasan and Alisha Chinai. Another favourite musician of hers is Michael Jackson. “I was devastated on learning about his death. I have been fortunate to see him live more than once.” She adds nostalgically, “I still have the tickets of his concert at the Wembley Stadium. It was like watching magic on stage.”

What about her favourite actors? “Karisma Kapoor was such a livewire on screen. I also like Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan,” she says. “I loved the combination of Karisma, Govinda and David Dhawan. In fact, many people felt Shaadi Number 1 was such an unusual debut for me. But I found the team of Vashu Bhagnani and David Dhawan so exciting.”

Doesn’t she get tired of the rumours about her, with the latest one linking her to Peter Andre? She laughs, “It’s a part and parcel of show business. I take it with a pinch of salt. Plus, Peter is pretty hot so I don’t mind.”

But she is quick to add, “However, he is married and I will never date a married man.”
As a firm believer in education, she has one advice for the youth.

“Many youngsters write to me saying ‘I want to be famous’. But I always tell them to focus on their studies. They should enjoy their college years because they make you the person that you are,” she signs off.