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Five years ago she entered the cine world as any other star kid, but with a difference. From Day One she had oodles of confidence. She never acted demure, helpless or timid. And when Salman Khan serenaded her with “Tere mast mast do nain…” in her debut film Dabangg, she knew that those doe eyes will win her the world. The film also fetched her the best debut Filmfare award.

Gurgling with laughter, Sonakshi Sinha says, “Yes, I have always been confident about my capabilities. These five years have been a tremendous learning experience for me. Whatever I know about my profession is through experience.”

Daughter of senior actor and politician Shatrughan Sinha, Sonakshi, after graduating in fashion designing from Mumbai, joined the world of fashion and worked as a costume designer. Coming from a family of actors, joining the film industry wasn’t a breaking news event in the family. All she had to do was to lose weight. Sonkashi in those days was really plump and it’s said that she had to lose more than 30 kg to become Rajjo for Dabangg. And even as a newcomer, it was her background plus her stint as a costume designer that helped her get along with every actor.

“I got along easily with all my co-stars, from Salman, Akshay, Ajay, Imran, Ranveer, Shahid, Arjun and now John. I am glad I got to work with a good mix of seniors and juniors — while the seniors guided me well, the younger lot, sailing in the same boat, were co-operative. At the end of the day, what matters is working with good actors, not their age,” says the lady in her late 20s.

Sonakshi became famous as a bubbly, chirpy girl sans star kid tantrums and with a coolness of ‘accept me as I am’ attitude. It was this attitude which got her the tomboyish roles in films like Rowdy Rathore, Son of Sardar, Dabangg 2, Himmatwala, R..Rajkumar, Bullet Raja etc., till Lootera happened, which established her as a talented actor, too. Now she has also added another feather — crooned her way to success with a single “Aaj Mood Ishqholic Hai”.

She confesses, “I would like to be known as an actor who is multi-talented. Why just stop at singing! I can dance, sketch, design and do lots more. Wait for it. I’ll bring all my talents to the fore.”

And looking at the success of that song, she seems to be on the right track. She admits, “So far I’ve got great response from fans as well as my colleagues in the industry. They all showed tremendous support through Twitter. It was very sweet of them. It’s been my childhood dream to record an album one day and this is just a baby step towards the same.”

Apart from Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut, Sonakshi is the best bet to join the Rs 100 crore club. In a world where moolah matters more than talent, many actors, both male and female, are playing safe by accepting only tried and tested roles. “Both critical acclaim and box-office success have their importance in an actor’s career. There has to be a fine balance between the two.”

While women are part of successful films, they are unable to get their due in the male-dominated world. Sonakshi also feels the same. Choosing her words carefully she says, “I think it’s changing slowly and steadily. There are many women-centric films being made these days. Actors like Vidya Balan, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut and Deepika Padukone have delivered some amazing performances and proved that an actress can carry a film on her shoulders.”

Though she has acted in some action films, she has never enacted the fight scenes.  However, this year is going to be different. Two of her forthcoming action films for which she trained hard are Force 2 with John Abraham and Akira with Konkona Sen Sharma.

“I had to go through intensive training for Akira and trained for two long months, so by the time Force 2 got finalised and went on floors, I was pretty much trained. I was always athletic. So, that made it easy,’’ recalls Sonakshi.

Sonakshi is calm and doesn’t get rattled by the goings-on in the industry. Lately, the film industry is witnessing many breakups and separations which can shake any young person’s belief in the institution of marriage. What does she think of it?

Says Sonakshi, “I think marriage depends on how committed the two individuals involved in it are. It has nothing to do with this industry or any other industry. It purely depends on how strong your bond is. Some people just grow out of each other and that’s nobody’s fault. And then there are some who spend a lifetime together. I always try and take in the positive side of things.’’

On a lighter note, you ask her whether one day she would take to politics like her father, and Sonakshi Sinha laughs and says, “I don’t have the aptitude for politics. That is not something I would look at. I would love to act for as long as I can, for I like entertaining people.’’