ACTRESS Sameera Reddy can play a dumb bimbo with a wacky sense of humour (in Hindi flick Race) and a conniving, money-minded lover (in Hindi movie Taxi No. 9-2-11).

Since her debut in films in 2002 with film Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, Sameera has come a long way - she has lost oodles of weight, she has modelled on the ramp and she has associated herself with charities. 

Now the actress is experimenting with parallel cinema - her latest release is director Buddhadeb Dasgupta's Bengali film Kaal Purush. "

So far, so good," says Sameera, as she talks about her life onscreen and off it. 

Her journey as an actress so far:

I consider myself lucky to have worked with the best directors in the industry.

It has not been easy. But then, it is not easy for anyone in the industry. It is an uphill climb for all of us here, including Shahrukh Khan.

I have worked with directors ranging from Sanjay Gupta through Ram Gopal Verma to Buddhadeb Dasgupta and Aruna Raje. I worked with Mira Nair for a short film Migration, screened at the Toronto Film Festival in 2007. I played a HIV+ housewife.

How did it all begin:

I remember, I used to be a fun-loving, happy-go-lucky girl in college.  

When I was still studying at the Sydenham College in Mumbai, I happened to be chosen for a music video. It was a Pankaj Udhas song called Aahista.

My sisters, Meghna and Sushma, already established actresses by then, also inspired me. So I decided to take the plunge.

After this music video, I decided to concentrate on two things – training in Kathak and acting in films.

After my debut in Maine Dil Tujhko Diya, I did two Telugu films, Narasimhudu and Jai Chiranjeeva.