'I'm overworked and underpaid'

She's sexy, she's sassy and now, she's strong enough to protect a man from evil. It's hard to imagine the slim, leggy and ultra feminine Priyanka Chopra as a tough, hardened protector of a tall, beefed-up king, who himself is the saviour of the universe. But that's what she is, in her latest movie “Drona”, co-starring Abhishek Bachchan.

And, there's a lot more coming from Priyanka this year.

In Madhur Bhandarkar's “Fashion” she plays a small-town girl who gets caught in the big bad world of glamour and in “Dostana”, a woman who's the love interest of two friends.

For now, however, she’s concentrating on promoting her movie “Drona” in which she is playing a human shield to Abhishek Bachchan's character King Drona. The film is said to be the mother of all fantasy flicks to hit Indian screens.

In a chat, Priyanka speaks about her films and co-stars. Excerpts:

Abhishek told us that Drona is (director) Goldie's and his childhood dream come true. And now, you're a part of this dream too…

Yes, they told me they wanted to make a film with swords in it ever since they were children (laughs). I am very happy to be a part of their dream.

A glamorous bodyguard with a turban and a sword. How did that happen?

The character is supposed to be this hot bodyguard who is blissfully unaware of her charms as she goes around protecting Drona. I liked the character for its uniqueness. A female bodyguard to a man who himself is very strong isn't an everyday occurrence.

Goldie wanted the character to be feminine and yet, tough. So he gave me a turban and made me wear blacks and leather but with chiffon and raw silk coat with embroidery to add elements of femininity and Indian-ness. I want this character to be a memorable one.

You're taking on a lot of action roles. Are you trying to be the desi Angelina Jolie?

I did a bit of action in ‘Don’ but I guess ‘Drona’ is a completely action-oriented role. I like to try something different in all my films. I worked hard on this role and I hope I have been convincing that a woman can indeed be a bodyguard to a man twice her size (laughs).

That must have taken a lot of training…

Yes it did. But that's inevitable when you make a film that's different.

Different? We've heard that word a little too many times…

I know that every time we launch a film we say it's different. When ‘Love Story 2050’ was due I said it was different. I say ‘Drona’ is different and so are ‘Dostana’ and ‘Fashion’. But I will continue saying that because I usually take on roles that can be distinguished from each other.

Coming back to Drona, at a time when most filmmakers choose Chinese or western martial arts for action, we chose 'Dakka', a Sikh form of martial art that is from Tula village. We wanted to keep ‘Drona’ Indian and yes, 'different'.

Did you have any scary experiences while doing action?

Not scary but thrilling yes. This action sequence needed me to fight seven baddies atop a train that's moving at 60 miles an hour. It was an effort to keep my balance and fight them. And then I had to dash across bogeys. I enjoyed it a lot and though it was rather fancy, it was exciting.

You seem to have lost a lot of weight. Is size zero the goal?

I have lost weight because I am overworked and underpaid. That's the best way to shed pounds (laughs).

Is it because of the bikini sequence in Dostana?

It's not a bikini, it's a swimsuit. I toned up for that one. I love food and I am very Punjabi that way. I can't starve. If you work out, you tone up. I had to gain 5 kg for ‘Fashion’ because my character had to be fuller in the beginning, and then lose weight when she becomes a model. So I had to do it for both films, not just for the swimsuit scene in ‘Dostana’.