SHILPA SHETTY

I like being innocent, but know now when I am being taken for a ride.

I'd love to direct a film, but I don't think I have the temperament for it. I'm very hyper, and I want things to be done ASAP. If I turn director, I might end up killing my actors.

I adore gardening and plan to take it up properly when I have a bit more time on my hands. Until then, I love pottering in garden centres. I'm totally low maintenance. I don't ask for fancy plants, just basic, long-lasting shrubs that look nice. But I am particular about flowers.

I believe we move in soul groups; we meet the same people over different lifetimes; we have to finish the unfinished business with those people. And when we do, they walk away from our lives.

I'm a believer of destiny, and I believe I'm destiny's child. I've seen the highs, and I've seen the lows, and I believe things happen for a reason and always for the best.

Not coming from a film background, be it a teeny-weeny role or a big role, I have done it with a lot of dignity and fought my way through. But the only thing that kept me going is that I am the sort of person who doesn't take no for an answer. If someone rejects me, I will be out to prove that person wrong in my own way.

I visualise what I want through meditation. The process of meditating is a great way of making sure I have my priorities sorted. It's not about money - I focus on my career and the kind of film projects I want to do. Film-making is a passion for me, and my mantra is that you should do what you love, and the money will follow.

I believe in binging once a week. This takes care of my cravings. I don't eat huge quantities when I binge, but I eat different varieties of food.

I'm destiny's child. I wasn't meant to be born: my mother bled for four months when she was pregnant, and then she fell down the stairs in her eighth month of pregnancy. She nearly died; I believe I came into this world for a reason.

Yoga did not just help me with my body, I became fitter from within. It helped me to focus better. In the movies, we may look very glamourous and fit, but believe me, not many of us are actually fit from within. Yoga has helped me achieve that.

If your insides are not well looked-after, then your outsides are going to suffer. It's like a glass that's not cleaned from the inside. Whatever you do to polish it from the outside, it's still going to look dirty. So that's the analogy.

Yes, many people in rural parts of India are very orthodox and have arranged marriages. But I won't - I want to fall madly in love with someone and be whisked off my feet.

I would love to do a cookery show and cookery books. I'm not a professional cook, but I can definitely cook. I know the difference between good and bad cooking. I mean, when I was in 'Big Brother' I was the glorified cook of the house, so if I got offered my own show - then why not?

I can't be worrying about what other people think of me. I am my own person, and I have made it this far on my own. This is me - take me or leave me. I don't owe explanations to the rest of the world, only to my family.

I believe I am blessed with the ability to fall asleep just about anytime, anywhere. I can sleep on a flight, on a couch, and even on a bus.

I have actually been sporty right from my childhood. I was quite chubby in the first eight years of my life. But then I began playing volleyball in school. That did it. I lost all my baby fat and became slim.

I'm a bit of a shopaholic. I've been working in the Bollywood film industry since I was 17, and I have always been financially independent, but I think I would be useless looking after my own money.

I need someone to woo me. Magazines are always saying I am beautiful and millions of men want to woo me, but none has come forward because they are all so scared.

I honestly have no interest in politics; I don't think I could ever get into politics.

Whether it is an ad or a business, it must be something I believe in. I cannot do something simply for the money. It must connect with me because I want to be a catalyst to make people's lives happier.

If you saw me without concealer, you would see that I have raccoon eyes. And I think my forehead is too small. I am not quintessentially beautiful. I am photogenic, but that's only because I have learned how to make the best of what I've got from the make-up artists I have worked with.

Christian Louboutin - his shoes are classic and can be worn for any occasion. I love the feel of Prada shoes and the comfort of Fendi. I like Miu Miu and Nicholas Kirkwood. A shoe can decide how stylish you are.

I am obsessed with cricket. But to be honest, I prefer the IPL format to test matches.

First of all, from a spiritual perspective, I don't think anyone needs to be apologetic about being successful or having money. The more successful you are, the more job opportunities you create for other people.

My goal is that after I am dead and gone, I want people to remember me for the person I am.