Entertainment - Lara Dutta - 70 ft underwater-bikini-toughie ?

Prithwish Ganguly

Lara Dutta believes that no other Hindi film actress could have done the underwater action stunts that she has done in her forthcoming film Blue, which stars Akshay Kumar and Sanjay Dutt in the lead.

“I don’t think there is any actress in our industry who could have done what I went through and did in Blue," Lara told DNA. "The underwater stuff I have done was both physically exhausting and very mentally challenging. I wanted to teach myself swimming at any cost and I have learnt it finally through this film. We have done some great stuff 70 feet below. But there is a great deal of satisfaction after going through all that. The film is looking super-amazing. It is going to up the ante of how some of the stunts in Bollywood should be done.”

For those who are interested, Lara can be seeing in bikinis in the movie.

Lara revealed that Akshay Kumar offered her the animation film Jumbo during one such action sequence in Phuket, Thailand. “We were in the middle of something very serious which needed all our attention and Akshay chose that moment to offer me Jumbo. I was like, are you serious? And he was!"

Lara had never been part of an animation film, "but I had loved watching them. Jumbo has some of the elements that Lion King had.”

Lara is also part of Shah Rukh Khan’s Billoo Barber and though reports suggest that she does not have much of a screen presence in the film, Lara says she chose the film because of its content.

“Billoo Barber happened out of the blue. Shah Rukh narrated the film to me and he didn’t promise me much. He was very honest. He said it is a good film and he would be very happy if I were a part of it. I also felt it was a great film and I signed it. I believed in the story more than thinking how much screen time I would be getting.

"Actors are selfish, but when something so good comes your way, one should take it up. The film has great emotion and Shah Rukh, Irrfan Khan, and Priyadarshan (the director) have made the movie an amazing experience.”