Koena does her own little number

She's sizzled the masses with her item numbers, but model-turned-actor Koena Mitra is averse to being called an 'item'. She tells Times of India why she, hates the word. So is Koena Mitra only 'all skin'? I'm very comfortable in my skin. Yet, I won't do anything that's indecent, cheap or vulgar. I will do a dance number only if I'm convinced about how the director would present me.I'd do something only if the script demands. But isn't a lot expected from your ilk under the guise of "the demands of the scripts"? Well, if I'm playing a prostitute and am required to do a scene in bed, then it does justify my profession. Or if a newly married couple is shown in bed, then it's the need of the story. But if there is something where the director is just showing a couple kissing only for a song, or a heroine in a wet sari only to please the masses, then I have a problem! Wasn't Musafir an aberration then? I was very happy with Musafir. I had two songs which were great and received well, and a few scenes. Musafir was never meant to be a family film! In my three years in the industry, I have been offered several 'heroine-oriented' films with first-time producers/directors and a new star cast, but tell me who will come and watch those movies? But if I do a number in a Sanjay Gupta film, I will be noticed because the film also has a Sanjay Dutt and Anil Kapoor. And that's fine by me! I know it'll be a slow process to become an actor or a star. I'm not willing to take on the sole responsibility of selling a film. I can't have 20 kisses with my co-star and then proclaim to the world 'Come and watch them.' I'd rather bank on somebody to get me noticed! How do you take being called an 'item number queen'? Why use the word 'item'. It's so derogatory and cheap. Why can't they call it a guest appearance. It's more dignified. What is the difference between a dignified item number and a cheap one? The one that Lara Dutta did in Khakee was a number with a lot of dignity and aesthetics. She was Lara in the song: Her personality, her charisma shone through. Whereas all those girls doing music videos wearing tiny clothes and making vulgar gestures are, to my mind, very cheap! Who has been your favourite item icon? Well, Abhishek Bachchan was great in 'One Love' (Rakht) but nobody dare call him an item number, as he's a very fine actor and has great presence. And Shilpa Shetty, since her superb figure, can carry off any number without looking cheap. Tell us honestly, does the casting couch exist? I'm sure it does, but it hasn't happened with me. Nobody dares to do that to me! I'm a self-made woman. I'm a titleholder, a model, who has done good quality work, and I'm quite happy with the films I have worked in. I pay my own bills. I know it's a fake industry and everyday, everybody does their own little number. I just do that and no more. That's it! I'm in no hurry to reach anywhere.