How did 'Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat' happen?
"Rajiv was looking for a new girl. And he happened to see some parts of 'Tera Jadoo Chal Gaya.' He didn't quite get a clear picture of how I looked and what I was all about and he was kind of inquisitive about me. He tried to get in touch with me through some people and one fine day, while I was doing my patch for 'TJCG' I heard from him and he wanted to see me. So I went over to his office, and as soon as I walked in, he said, "Ok, she's on!" It was written all over his face. And you can make out when people are giving you a positive response. So then itself I knew that this is happening for me. It was a very instinctive kind of decision for him and for me it was a great surprise because I was really looking forward to working with him."

What's your role in the film?
"It's a very emotional and a sensible character that I play. It's basically about a girl - all that she goes through during the different phases of love." You always seem to have a choice as far as men are concerned. First in 'TJCG' it was a choice between two - Sanjay and Abhishek and now between three of them. So can we expect Keerthi to be choosing outta four in her next film? How did u feel romancing three hunks on the big screen?
"Well, that's not much in my hands. But it definitely could be because all my directors feel that I deserve more than one (Laughs). Romancing three of them was nice because in one way I was getting all their attention." "Once Rajiv takes somebody he just believes that they are the best. So you are constantly boosted to give it all you have, and that's a great feeling."

Which of the three heroes did you get along with the most?
"Sunil is much elder to me and I would listen to what he said. But with Arjun and Aftab it was all so informal. With each one it was a different rapport. I got along with all three of them very very well."

How was it working with Rajiv? Is he a tough taskmaster?
"He is a tough taskmaster. But he doesn't make u feel like that. There are some directors who get behind you and you tend to get uneasy because it's emotions you are playing around with. But I liked the way he balanced himself. Even while shooting, if someone did something wrong… he knows that the person can do it - he gives space and time for them to realise it on their own. He's fabulous. I really have a lot of respect for him. Inspite of a lot of things, which he wasn't so sure about, he casted me in this main role or even Arjun for that matter, because he has hardly seen any of my performances. It was like blind faith in all of us. And once he takes somebody he just believes that they are the best. So you are constantly boosted to give it all you have, and that's a great feeling."

Do u think you have lived up to that blind faith he put in you?
"While I was working with him, the realization of the responsibility that I have to deliver whatever he wants and live up to his expectations, was always there. Throughout the making of the film, if there was something he wasn't feeling right about, I could make out. And that never happened so… And after seeing the film it wouldn't be right to even think that we didn't really work on it because we all have our sincere efforts invested in the project."

It has been heard that on the sets of 'Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat' the men got along really well. Did you at anytime feel left out?
"No, not at all. Because I was there throughout the film, from the very beginning to the very end, and they didn't make me feel left out at any point. They always made me a part of their conversations and it wasn't like you won't understand this or anything like that. And that was the very special part of the film, the fact that nobody got left out. Nobody, not even the character artists, none of 'em." "I have seen all of Rajiv's films. And yes definitely - I have always wanted to work with him, but I didn't know it was gonna happen so soon."

How do you choose your films? And if you were offered the same script of 'Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat' with a different director, would you have taken it up?
"My role and the script are the main things I look at. Everything else is second priority. If it was the same script and if the director was somebody who, I was assured was capable of handling such a script, then why not? I have seen all of Rajiv's films. And yes definitely - I have always wanted to work with him, but I didn't know it was gonna happen so soon."

Your first Hindi film wasn't a success; you must've been very disappointed?
"I think the minute your mind is idle, you start brooding over things like these. My mind is never idle and if it was then it might have hurt me. But I wasn't really disappointed. Let's put it this way…it would've made a lot of difference if it would've done well but I am not cribbing either."

What would you rate as the cause of the failure of 'TJCG'?
"I can't comment on that. There are so many things that might have gone wrong. Every film has some flaw or the other and you don't expect every film to do well. I really dunno and I don't wanna say anything."

Do you regret doing 'TJCG'?
"Not at all. It was a very good launch for me. With no film background, coming from the South and having never been in the limelight, I think myself to be plain lucky. I consider myself lucky to have been part of that project. And to have a launch like that is difficult. Forget about the fate of the film but I did get the publicity that many people today want from their first film. And the co-star coming from the Bachchan family, and Vashu Bhagnani being the producer are all assets worth mentioning …so!" "It would've made a lot of difference if 'Tera Jadoo…' would've done well but I am not cribbing either… I consider myself lucky to have been part of the project. Forget about the fate of the film but I did get the publicity that many people today want from their first film."

Have you faced the brunt of the film industry as yet? How have your experiences been?
"So far it has been very very pleasant and very good in fact. Till date, I have never faced anything that I have been uncomfortable with or even worked with any person that I am forcing myself to work with. And I never feel anything like that would ever happen with me." "Abhishek coming from a background such as his would definitely know more people and most of them would be people who matter."

You started your film at a very young age of 17 years. Don't you think that a Hindi film as your first film would've set you on a more solid platform and thus ensured you a more promising future?
"No, not really. I am glad in fact that I started off from where I originally come from. And in a way I think it prepared me for what was in store. It gave me a sort of experience, which I think has worked in my favour. I already knew how it felt to face the camera, the people and things like that. I really don't think it would've made any kind of difference had I started my career from here, and I don't even wanna analyse that. Whatever has happened has happened, it was bound to happen, and it happened for the best. Everything does."

How different is it working down South and up here?
"It's not very different, in terms of the medium or the people. May be sometimes the working conditions are different and technically things are done differently, but nothing more than that. Yes, down South they are more punctual, they don't cancel shootings at the last minute. But there too they have their negative points. The Hindi film industry sure has its own pros and cons. So the good and the bad are integral facets of any and every workplace."

How many films do you have on floor as of now?
"Right now I am doing a South Indian film which is a tri-lingual film - Telugu, Tamil and Kannada, then I am doing a film with Satish Kaushik opposite Anil Kapoor. As of now, these films are on floor."

Do you plan to join the Hindi film industry 'full-time'?
"I am definitely looking at it as my profession. Yes to be part of it and yet not be part of it. I wanna be part of all the good things that happen and not be a part of the gossip columns and unpleasant things that may ensue. I don't mind being a part of this rat race as they call it but I don't wanna become a rat - that's what I mean." " My having dubbed for 'Pyar, Ishq Aur Mohabbat' is definitely a sort of achievement, because I am self-convinced that I am gonna be proving a lot of people, who wrote me off by unjustly assuming my tonal accents, wrong."

In that case, don't you think you should be shifting base to Mumbai? "Yeah, I definitely think that would happen in another couple of months. But I am not gonna pack my suitcases that I have back at my hometown because I am very well-settled there and I come from a sound family. My family isn't going to shift their luggage here saying, "That's it! This is all because of her profession and now we have to be there too." It's not like that. If I am gonna shift to Mumbai its gonna be purely on the basis of work, just for the matter of convenience to everybody around and myself. But that will happen soon enough, whenever it has to. I am not gonna rush into it because even I have to think whether it's really worth it."

What do you expect from 'Pyar Ishq Aur Mohabbat'?
"What I have done in this film is very different from what I did in 'TJCG.' I definitely want it to do really really well. I hope it does well for me and for the rest of the people who have been in any way and every way a part of it."