ACTRESS Manissha Lamba talks about her latest flick, Kidnap, which is out on Eid next month.

The film which also stars Imran Khan and Sanjay Dutt is a high-octane drama about a power tussle between a young boy and the father of the girl he kidnaps.

Sonia (Lamba) lives with her mother and grandmother. A week before her eighteenth birthday celebration, she is kidnapped.

The abductor, Kabir (Khan) is interested in speaking only to her enstranged father, Vikrant Raina (Dutt), an affluent New York-based Indian businessman, with whom he has an old score to settle.

Vikrant returns to India to retrieve his daughter from Kabir’s clutches but has to carry out a series of daunting tasks set out by Kabir as a condition to rescue her.

Q/ Your sexy avtar in Kidnap has been in the news!

A/ When Sanjay (Gadhvi), the director, mentioned that he wanted to showcase me in a completely different light, I was excited. It was an opportunity to experiment. He had faith in me. The character is that of a young, hip girl; like Alicia Silverstone of Clueless. I'm glad people are liking and discussing my look!

From a simple look in Bachna Ae Haseeno to a sexy look in Kidnap, how has the transformation been?

The response and reaction has been encouraging and exciting. People keep telling me how they thought it was someone else initially on watching the promos but only after looking at the Heya and Mausam Mausam songs from Kidnap a couple of times on television, they realised that it was me!

You worked hard for that hot body in Kidnap?

Oh yes, I really worked out hard! I hit the gym big time and radically controlled my diet doing cardio, yoga, aerobics and weight training! It was hard! Anyone who feels it's easy to look hot must think twice. (Laughs) I'm glad it has all paid off. I'm enjoying the sexy tag and take it as a huge compliment.

What drew you to the character of Sonia in Kidnap?

I played a young girl in Bachna Ae Haseeno and I play a young girl in Kidnap. I'm glad I'm getting roles that make me enact my age. Apart from the fact that I essay a young girl, there is nothing common between my characters in the two films. Sonia of Kidnap is very different from Mahi of Bachna Ae Haseeno. In the latter I'm a simpleton looking for love and togetherness in life. In Kidnap, I am a hip and sassy girl who parties hard. There's never a dull moment around her.

What are you like in real life? Mahi or Sonia?

I think I'm a cross between the two. I'm not that dreamy or demure. Neither am I outrageous.

What are your expectations from Kidnap?

The film has shaped up really well. It's an engaging edge-of-the-seat drama with thrills and a focus on various human relationships – father-daughter, husband-wife, etc. It's Sanju's first release of 2008 and Imran's first after Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na! So you can't afford to miss it, can you?

KIDNAP releases on 1October  2008