Priyanka Chopra's arrived. The second female ever to win a Filmfare Best Villain Award for her role in Aitraaz, Priyanka's now enjoying the limelight as the leading lady in a number of Bollywood flicks.

After Krrish, Don and Salaam-e-Ishq, Priyanka is doing Love Story 2050, Drona and God Tussi Great Ho. In fact, Love Story 2050, a futuristic film, promises to show her in a 'shockingly' different role. And Hollywood offers are pouring in as well, keeping Priyanka Chopra on a high.

Another thing taking her high is India's win at the Twenty20 World Cup. Yes, the lady's a cricket enthusiast and we couldn't resist asking her about the nation's win in South Africa. "I am so excited!

We won the World Cup! It was really a nail biting match. The boys put up an exceptional show in spite of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly's absence. MS Dhoni's captaincy was fantastic. He supported the team very well. I loved the team work," she gushes at the mere mention of the final match between the Indian and Pakistani cricket teams.

Priyanka says she was positive India was going to bring home the cup.

"When India won the toss, I felt it was a sign. I hope every child in India forgets the last World Cup and remembers this win for years to come. No one expected a final between India and Pakistan. And I think Shah Rukh Khan's presence proved a lucky charm," she says of her Don co-star.

Some of her exuberance, however, fades when you steer the topic to her injury. On the sets of Drona, Priyanka experienced a mishap. "I tore my abdomen muscle while doing a somersault stunt for a combat scene in Drona without warming up. I thought I was Krrish! But I couldn't relax. I had to shoot for a song sequence immediately after. I used some ice packs and plasters to heal it," says the brave beauty. In Drona, Priyanka plays bodyguard to Abhishek Bachchan's character.

Talking about abs, Did she see SRK's? He's sporting a beefy look these days. "I think his efforts are really commendable. I think he inspires everybody to have a great physique. In fact, I am all inspired to hit the gym now," she replies. The gym workout might help if rumors are to be believed. It seems that the former Miss World is being considered for Madhur Bhandarkar's Fashion, a bleak look at the underbelly of the glam world.

Ask her about this and she is non-committal. "Nothing is final at the moment, so I can't comment on it," she says. Priyanka shies away from comment when you ask about her legal battle with former secretary Prakash Jaju too. "The matter has been finalized and we have come to a mutual agreement" is all she is willing to divulge.

Catch her on whether she features in the sequel to Krrish and her reply is near about the same. "I don't know yet. That's something you would have to ask Rakesh Roshan. Do ask him," she smiles. If fielding uncomfy questions was an Olympic game, Priyanka would win hands down!

On Hollywood rumors, however, she is more forthcoming. Reports say that Priyanka turned down Ashok Amritraj's Hollywood production. "The dates didn't work out. I have been busy shooting for Love Story 2050 and Drona. There's also God Tussi Great Ho. In between these I couldn't find the time to accommodate his film," she reveals.

However, this doesn't mean that the model-actress is not considering Hollywood projects. It's just that she wants to choose carefully. "I want to be king of one than be a jack of all. But that doesn't mean I won't do English films. Whether it is a Hindi film or Kannada or Bengali, as long as it interests me, I'll do it," she avers. Going global her way, that's Priyanka for you.

From modeling to Bollywood, Arjun Rampal has completed a long journey. Effectively battling notions that models are wooden, Arjun has managed some good performances in films like Aankhen, Tehzeeb, Dil Hai Tumhara, Ek Ajnabee , and Don, among others. in an email interview, Arjun talks about his upcoming films The Last Lear and Om Shanti Om, his innings with Bollywood and more. Excerpts:  


Tell us something about your upcoming films…
The Last Lear and Om Shanti Om are very different from each another. The Last Lear moves towards serious parallel cinema, with a commercially successful cast. It's an English language film as opposed to Om Shanti Om, which is being marketed as the biggest Indian commercial film ever.

In The Last Lear, I play a filmmaker – a director who wants to cast in his film an aging Shakespearean theater actor, played by Amitabh Bachchan. The film is about different relationships and how the unification of the actor and director in the film takes over and changes everyone's life.  


What was it like working with Rituparno Ghosh?
Ritu is one of the most intense directors I have worked with and the layers in each character are fascinatingly. He is fantastic at extracting good performances from his actors and I feel everyone who is part of The Last Lear feels special. The film was shown at the Toronto Film Festival a few weeks ago and was received extremely well. So some of the pressure is off.  


And Om Shanti Om?
Om Shanti Om is a commercial potboiler with something for everyone. I think the toughest role I have done is that of Mukesh Mehra in Om Shanti Om because he is the coldest and meanest character I have played. He is eccentric, tricky and vicious and, trust me, I am none of these in my personal life. So it was hard for me initially. Then I got into my character and began having fun with it. Anyway as an actor, I think it is important to play different roles and it is rare that you get a chance to play a 30-year-old and then 65 in such a big commercial film. I am glad Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan thought of me for this role.  


The Last Lear is your third appearance with Amitabh Bachchan…
Yes, Aankhen was the first. What can one say about him? He is a genius and definitely the best costar one can have. His performance in The Last Lear is like sheer poetry. I think we both have something special onscreen. I felt it when I saw Ek Ajnabee and now again with The Last Lear.  


You were in the remake of Don . Which remake did you like better – Don or Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag?
I cannot comment, as I have not seen Aag. But the box office seems to have preferred Don.  

Tell us about your role in Dus Kahaniyan …
I am not in Dus Kahaniyan anymore. I was supposed to do a story that was being directed by Sanjay Gupta but that didn't happen. So now we are doing a longer story together. But I have heard most of the stories and the film seems extremely promising.  

You have a lot of multi-starrers to your credit but no solo projects. Why?
The time of single hero films is gone. Today, films are more character centric and therefore one has to be a part of a film and not the other way round when films were based around a particular star. Thank god for that otherwise we will never make good films.  

You prefer action or romance?
Great action and a beautiful girl to romance. Can't refuse either. Would you?  

You seem love doing the song-dance routine…
Yes, I do. Especially after the world tours. The encouragement I received out there from fans helped me lose my inhibitions. So a big thanks to my fans.  


You are a lot into charity but few know about it…
I have hardly done that much. There is a lot more we all need to do. God has given me a good life and I feel we all must help in our own small ways, without getting pretentious or looking for your own benefits all the time.  


You are not seen much in public. Why?
Not really. I do go to a lot of public places like a normal person. But yes, I don't like social events too much. That doesn't mean I am anti-social. I just avoid parties.  

Your wife Mehr Jessia just got back into choreography. Is she coming back to the ramp?
My wife is a very talented person, and it would be a waste if she doesn't work. She has contributed greatly to fashion in this country and will continue to do so. It's just that she has been playing mom to our kids and now that they both are more settled, I am sure Mehr will be seen a lot more.  


What after I See You?
Many more great stories and films.  

You once said you wanted to make films that will be watched all over the world…
Yes I did, and I do believe I will do so someday.

Mallika Sherawat has moved into Tabu's territory, replacing the latter in writer-turned-director Sanjay Chhel's latest venture Maan Gaye Mughal-e-Azam.

The closest that the two actors have come was when Mallika's Murder was released alongside Tabu's Meenaxi on the same Friday.

In the past too, the industry has had some incredible casting makeovers, like Tabu stepping into Rani Mukerji's space in Mira Nair's The Namesake and Lisa Ray getting into Deepa Mehta's Water, originally earmarked for Nandita Das.

But how did this one happen? Apparently the producers were unwilling to pay the price Tabu asked for. Obviously the role has undergone critical modifications to suit altered conditions.

Chhel disagrees: 'I'm a writer. So I know exactly how to place an actor into a character. Yes, Tabu was to do the role. But the way I look at it now, the role is perfect for Mallika. If Naseeruddin Shah had done Black wouldn't it have been different from the way Amitabh Bachchan played the character?'

Chhel asserts that his film isn't a spoof on the classic Mughal-e-Azam.

'No one in his right mind would satirise that all-time classic. My film is about a theatrical repertoire. Everyone -- Rahul Bose, K.K. Menon, Mallika -- has a comic role.'

Rahul and Mallika hit it off like a house on fire during Pyar Ke Side Effects. While Pritish Nandy Productions is still planning a sequel, Chhel has gone and got the unlikely pair together again.

It would be interesting to see Mallika do yet another role, after Pyar Ke Side Effects, where she is not cast in her sex-bomb image.

Actress Kangana Ranaut is confident about being pitched against Priyanka Chopra in Madhur Bhandarkar's upcoming venture Fashion.

'Barring Anurag Basu's Metro, most of my films have been solo-heroine films revolving around my character. This is the first time I'm co-starring with another actress. I'm not insecure about it. Why should I be? Priyanka and I have distinct personalities and that's why Madhur has signed us to play the two very different characters,' Kangana told IANS.

But Priyanka has a reputation of emerging as trumps whenever pitched against another actress like against Kareena Kapoor in Aitraaz and Lara Dutta in Andaaz.

'Good!' ripostes Kangana. 'It'd be healthy competition. We'll both do our best. A film shouldn't be like a kabaddi competition.

'And moreover Priyanka is not one of those actresses who has catfights on the sets or walks off because...bhalaa uski kameez meri kameez se zyada safed kyon hai! She is very secure in her space as I am in mine. Fashion is the first film I've signed in the last six months. I choose my roles according to what suits my personality.'

Bhandarkar must be the only filmmaker in the industry who casts for women's parts before getting the guys in place.

For Fashion he first trotted to Priyanka, waited till she approved of the final draft before going to Kangana to play the other lead.

'The narration happened just a few days ago. Madhur and I had been in talks for some time. When I heard the story I jumped at it. We start shooting in December,' says the actress who is just back from a holiday in her hometown Manali.

Is there a danger of her being typecast as a neurotic, on-the-edge, parapet actor?

'No parapets this time, only the ramp,' chuckles Kangana. 'I admit it is again a role about a woman on the edge, on the lines of Geetanjali Nagpal's character, though Madhur had written the script long before.

'In any case such stories of wasted dreams are common in the entertainment industry. But Geetanjali and I do look similar, frizzy hair and all.'

So will she again play a suicidal character? 'What's wrong with playing such characters? Someone has got to play them. And if I can play such uncertain characters with confidence, I might as well do that rather than be a decorative piece in a four-star comedy where I look completely out of place,' she says.