There is a lot more to Minissha Lamba than the hot bikini body that she flaunts in the upcoming crime thriller Kidnap. She is not just having a blast doing diverse roles, she is determined to climb right to the top in Bollywood. “Otherwise what is the point,” she asks!

In a short career spanning a little over three years, Minissha who lives in Mumbai with her parents and younger brother, has already acted in 11 films, having debuted with Shoojit Sircar’s ..Yahaan in 2005.

Not only has she done diverse roles, she has worked under coveted banners, including Yash Raj Films (Bachna Ae Haseeno). Ironically, Minissha, a successful model before she became an actress, never coveted a Bollywood career till Shoojit Sircar offered her a role in ..Yahaan.

In a tête-à-tête on Friday, September 26, we asked Minissha, 23, what she attributed her rapid rise in Bollywood to?

“Well it is a lot of hard work when you come here. It is not easy and just sitting back. It is not like that,” she replied.

“But everything that happened to get me hereare things not in my control,” she said, acknowledging the role of fate.

Other than good luck, she attributes her success to Shoojit Sircar and, not surprisingly, Yahaan (2005) still remains the film closest to her heart.

Minissha is not just sensuous, she is perfectly at ease with her sensuality. When we asked her if she had any qualms about Kidnap being hyped on account of her bikini shots in it, Minissha’s response was unabashed.

“No, not at all! Not at all! If people can wear bikini on the beach in real life why do we hesitate wearing it on the screen?”

Like men with six packs, women with the right curves, often flaunt them because it takes a lot of sweat and toil to acquire them.

difficult was it for her to get her curves right, we asked Minissha?

“It was very difficult. It was not easy being thin enough to get into a bikini. The process is a slog.” she admitted.

So does she intend to stick with the exercise and dieting regimen that she adopted? Is she going to be enjoying Mom’s parathas anytime soon again?

“Well now there is healthy balance of having mom’s parathas and exercising as well because you conditioned your body to be a certain way now, its easier now. But initially when you hadn’t reached that comfort zone that your body is in now, it was very difficult.

Surprising, Minissha does not have too many projects lined up, but we had little success in getting her to talk about her future plans.

Looking ahead you don’t seem to have too many films? What is going on?

What is going on is I was waiting for Bachna Ae Haseeno and Kidnap to release.

So does that means there are projects in the pipeline?

Yes, and announcements will be made when the time is ripe.

re you in the race to get to the top, or would you rather take things as they come and enjoy the experience?

Of course you want to enjoy the experiencewhile it happenswhile the process is on. But you also want to be a success and make sure you are climbing the ladder otherwise what is the point?