After kicking face in Dus, Shilpa Shetty is now off on a world tour with Sunny Deol and Aftab Shivdasani. No points for guessing who would shine among the four left feet. Shilpa laughs. “Both my releases last week tapped more than just my dancing potential. In Dus I actually do stunts. That one kick I pulled off has got so widely noticed! I can’t believe the impact. And in Fareb Shamita and I are the only sisters in Hindi cinema to have appeared together. Isn’t that cool?”

She’s flattered by the comparisons with Jennifer Lopez and Angelina Jolie. “But I’d rather be me, Shilpa Shetty. Forget Jennifer and Angelina, why are people comparing Shamita with me? Let me tell you, my sister is far hotter than me. The way she has performed her tough role in Fareb, is breathtaking.”

She corrects the belief that the presence of the two sisters in Fareb was a gimmick master-minded by Shilpa herself. “Wrong! They went to her first, she didn’t want to do it. Then after they signed me for the other role of Manoj Bajpai’s wife they went back to her. This time she agreed, and not because I had agreed. And, please, I didn’t do Fareb for my sister’s career! We’ve equal roles. She’s there throughout the first half while I take over in the second half. Fifty-fifty.”

Shilpa feels Fareb got a raw deal because of Dus. “The bigger film got the bigger opening. We had gone to a multiplex to watch Dus. While coming out, we ran across people who had just seen Fareb. They all came forward to say how much they liked the film.” Shilpa’s last outing with the same director Deepak Tijori wasn’t a happy experience. In her true candid style she agrees Khamosh went wrong. “Too many constraints. We had finished the film in 25 days. Do you know Khamosh was the first film where I was paired with a newcomer? Right from my first film, Baazigar, I’ve costarred only with the top guns?except Ajay Devgan with whom I’ve never worked. I wonder why!”

She ponders over that, and then perks up. “I’m very proud of Dus. I had never done a multistarrer before! I don’t know why critics have panned the screenplay. While we were shooting we thought the script was the real star of the film,” she giggles loudly. Sobering down she defends her director, Anubhav Sinha. “I love the way he used me in the film, not as a glamour prop, but as a character who carries the script forward. I was professional and yet I had a love life. Not too many heroines play such a character. I love the way Anubhav has co-ordinated the large number of characters. It’s a very difficult job to keep a balance in a film where the number of characters is so high.”

Looking like a million bucks Shilpa is in her prime. “So I’m told,” she giggles. “Unfortunately, male attention isn’t of the kind I’d like it to be. There’s just no one in my life, yaar! Maybe I’d finally go for an arranged marriage. But I’d have to fall in love with the man first. How arranged is that! Ha-ha?no, seriously, I’ve seen my mom and dad being together through thick and thin. But they just don’t make men like my dad anymore,” she sighs, and looks at the collections of her two simultaneous releases on Friday.

“You know, I knew Fareb would be crushed by Dus. Though stars no longer ensure a hit. Look at Page 3 and Kisna. They were released on the same day, and look at what happened. I feel Fareb is a decent marital drama. Besides it gave me a chance to work with my sister.”

Her voice lights up at the mention of Shamita. “She has just started. And I feel she has a very bright career. I’m so proud of her.” But right now is Shilpa Shetty jobless? “By choice,” she asserts. “At this very moment I’ve four scripts in hand. But I don’t think I’ll do any of them. I’d rather stay at home than do films I don’t believe in.”

SKJ