'I'm a bit of a wild child'

One might remember model-turned-actress Lisa Haydon from her role as a corporate yuppie in Aisha or that of an escort in ‘Rascals’. But while modelling took precedence to Bollywood, her love for the camera led her to the opportunity of hosting the upcoming ‘AXN Thrillionare Awards’, India’s first English viewer’s choice award. 

In the City to promote the show, she spoke to Metrolife about her career, life and role in Vikas Bahl’s ‘Queen’, in which she is sharing screen space with Kangana Ranaut. 

“In ‘Queen’, my character Vijaylakshmi has been my favourite character so far because she’s a free spirited wild child. She lives in the moment and pre-plans nothing. Her character is pivotal in the film because she is completely opposite to Rani, played by Kangana, who comes on her honeymoon alone when her wedding is called off. Rani is the type of person, who had decided that she is going to be married by 20 and have kids by 24. But the first person she meets is me!” laughs Lisa. 

She continues, “The film shows how both of these girls are products of their environment. They both have good hearts but there are things that Vijaylakshmi does that make Rani ask ‘How is your mind like that?’ Eventually, Rani realises that Vijaylakshmi’s character is a catalyst for the change in herself. I loved playing her because I think that’s how people should live — there should be some general direction of where you are going but not everything has to be planned.”

On being asked how much of the character reflects her own personality, Lisa replies, “I’m a bit of a wild child. Vikas told me that he wrote the character around my personality. And the more he got to know me as a person, the more the script started to change.”Her own life also reflects this belief as at the age of 18, Lisa wanted to be a yoga teacher. Luckily for her, her accidental modelling career proved to be the right portal to explore the world. 

“It was a conscious decision to not become a yoga teacher back then because I thought I was too young and too wild to do something like that. I’m glad with what I am doing as this lifestyle lets me travel and have all kinds of experiences,” she shares. 

When she isn’t busy with pending shoots or making big career decisions, there is enough to keep Lisa busy. 

“I’ve got lots of passions — I love water sports and surf, do a lot of yoga, run marathons, cook and also have an organic skin care line called ‘Naked’,” she notes.She happens to be a big fan of Bangalore and loves the spirit of the youth in the City. “I love coming here. To me, the young people here are the most switched on in the country, be it in terms of music, art or fashion. I can’t describe it but they are just cool. There is something very forward about it, which I admire,” wraps up Lisa.