I’m always a struggler: Neha

Neha Dhupia is super busy, the promotional activities for her next film, Raat Gayi Baat Gayi, taking up a lot of time and energy.
She’s so tied up that she isn’t performing anywhere on New Year’s Eve. “It was my choice. If I were to perform, I couldn’t have promoted the film a week before that. Besides, I’m off to my house in Goa on December 31, where I’ve been ringing in the New Year for the last seven years,” she reveals.
Raat Gayi...is her fourth film with Rajat Kapoor, who’s co-produced it. While every actress aims to enter the Yash Chopra and Karan Johar camps, Neha seems to be happy with her association with Rajat. “He’s back with a great script. It’s a lot of fun. I challenge myself as far as choosing my roles is concerned,” she says.
Hollywood beckoned her this year. There was the mini-serial, Bollywood Hero, and then, she was appointed by Jessica Simpson as the beauty ambassador from India for the teleserial, Price of Beauty. While the shooting of Price... is over and the show will be aired soon, will there be a second season of Bollywood Hero as reports suggest? “Not that I know of,” Neha says.
She’s shortlisted a few names for a Hollywood agent for herself. “I did go to LA and New York for a while. But I’m so comfortable working with my own people that I always feel like returning to Mumbai. It’s Bollywood first for me,” she smiles.
Six years in the industry, and Neha still calls herself a struggler. “I’m always a struggler; it’s so much cooler that way. People don’t expect much from you. I’m a little hard on myself, though. I have a long way to go. I don’t ever want to be an established actor as I don’t want this struggle to end,” she says.
Perhaps the best thing about being Neha is not being linked to your co-stars. “That isn’t always good. I’m so bored reading the same things about me. But I don’t like manicured men in any case, and most men in the industry are,” quips Neha. Beau Ritwik Bhattacharya, a squash player, is nothing like that. But a firm “no comments,” escapes her lips when asked about marriage.