Shikha Talsania, who will be seen in the upcoming film "Veere Di Wedding", says there is much more to her than her body type and hopes the industry stops looking at her in a unidimensional manner.
Shikha made her debut with"Wake Up Sid" (2009), in which she played the role of Laxmi, the accomplished and body conscious best friend of Ranbir Kapoor's character.
She was also seen in "Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji", "My Friend Pinto" and "Midnight's Children", among others.
The actor says she is aware of her appearance and is open to transformation if a role demands.
"Look at Aamir Khan, the way he transforms for a film. I will put on weight or lose weight, I will do it for a film. I got much fitter for 'Veere Di Wedding'.
"There is much more to me than just what I look like. Everybody should think like that. I just want to act, perform. We are at a wonderful time where more well-etched out parts are being written for women. I am happy being this person, this is me," Shikha told PTI.
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Post her debut, the actor says she received similar roles and she rejected some of them as she did not want to be stereotyped.
"I was hungry for work and nobody knew me. I want the entire world to know about me. I was making calls and finding out about the auditions. Auditions are nothing but part of acting. But, a lot of work that came my way was very unidimensional, like the character who is fat or despite being fat she is funny.
"I was not comfortable with that. There has been a lot of work to which I have said no. I hope the struggle ends," she says.
In "Veere...", Shikha will be seen playing the role ofMeera, who marries without her parents' consent.
"Rhea Kapoor, who is producing the film, and Karan Johar knew me from before as I had done 'Wake Up Sid' with them. I was called by casting director Mukesh Chabbra, I did a look test and got selected," she says.
The actor says the Shashanka Ghosh-directed film is about female bonding and their struggles in the modern-day world.
"When I was reading the story, I did not see the gender. There are so many films that have male protagonist and I relate to that. The need of the hour is to have women roles with whom you can relate to. Let's hope with 'Veere...' some spark happens," she says.
Shikha, who is the daughter of veteran actor Tiku Talsania, says there is often discussion about acting at home and her father appreciates her work.
The film also features Kareena Kapoor Khan, Sonam K Ahuja and Swara Bhasker.
Produced by Ekta Kapoor, Rhea Kapoor and Nikhil Dwivedi, "Veere..." is set to release on June 1.