I always wanted to be a singer.I finished university and decided that I wanted to take a risk and come to India for a year. If it didn’t work out then I planned to go back to the UK and work in the UN as I had a placement there.

I’m not a typical Indian.I went to the best private schools. I was an A graduate student and didn’t have many Asian friends.

My girl group Sansara split because we couldn’t stand each other.They thought things would come easy to them in India but things were so competitive, so advanced and so fast. We went there thinking we were the cat’s whiskers. We were asked to do an act with Hrithik at an awards event, which could have changed everything for us but the other two members said no. That was really disappointing.

Auditioning for MTV India was the best thing I ever did.It made me familiar with the industry and I was doing the MTV Love Line on television every night. Mallika Arora used to do the show but when she came back from maternity leave, they didn’t give her the show again and carried on with me.

I jumped at the chance of doing Shaadi No1.It was with my dear friend Zayed Khan. I barley read the script and thought I will be acting with a huge actor and got to sing and dance so I jumped at the chance.

I’m gifted with a fantastic memory.I can easily remember four to five pages of dialogues and don’t even make a mistake. I am also naturally gifted in languages. My French and Italian are fluent and I speak Hindi and Urdu at home. I sing Arabic in very good pronunciation and picked up Spanish from songs very easily.

I’d rather be known as an arrogant bitch than an easy slut.Other actresses do sleazy roles for survival but this is not my survival. My body language is so confident that I never look cheap or vulgar. Whatever I wear I can carry it off.

I shortened my name because I hated being mistaken for Sophiya Haque. My father loved Sophia Loren and named me after her. The producers for the video Mera Babul Chail Chabila all said my name should be ‘Sophie’, which is nice because it’s universal – people don’t know if I’m Punjabi, Hindu, Christian or otherwise.

The producer of Pyaar Ke Side Effects said I was hotter than Mallika Sherawat.The critics gave me such good feedback for that film. The Indian audience remembered my character’s name and they absolutely loved me. I left a mark.

Some actors are nice to your face and bitches behind your back.I’m not here to make friends but to build a career and enjoy my work. There is huge competition but there are a few wonderful people as well. I am fond of Urmila because she is totally genuine and unstarry off camera.

Being a sex symbol is great and not something I have to work at.I would rather be a sex symbol than the girl next door. There is a time when things change. At least people enjoy watching me and then they will realise there is much more to me. In Daddy Cool, people get to see my comic side. In Alibag I play a deep role and not a typical glamorous one.

It is important to look good on and off screen.This is show business and you are paid to look good otherwise no-one would look at you. You have to take care of yourself and your skin as a celebrity by using products, get waxed, you name it.

I would never consider plastic surgery.I work hard to maintain my body. I suffer from knee problems but refuse to give up dancing. I am a healthy eater and enjoy keeping fit. I believe that an Indian woman should be curvy. I love to wear saris at award ceremonies – that’s my favourite outfit.

My confidence does not get shaken.There are many films that I should have done and it’s frustrating that they haven’t been offered to me, but I’ve only been in the industry for five years and in films for two years, so when I look at other girls I feel lucky at how much I have already achieved.

Men don’t have the guts to approach me.I have been single for so long! I am too into my work anyway. Relationships takes time and it’s not fair to expect the other person to understand whenever you have late working hours or have to travel somewhere unexpectedly. I will wait for a man to approach me and not feel intimidated.

I have no plans to date a fellow actor.I don’t see any of them in that way. The chemistry that you have with a co-star can be fantastic and you can develop feelings for them.

I can’t bear to sit at home doing nothing.I can’t sit still. I don’t want any regrets in my life – that is why I fill it to the maximum. The next two years I have important releases. Models such as Bipasha and Deepika have been easily accepted into Bollywood but it’s much harder for a VJ. I’m more than  prepared to work for it though.

• Daddy Cool is out on DVD