I’ll live life my way: Sushmita Sen

She has been spotted in the arms of several hot men over the years. And quite unlike most Bollywood lasses, actress Sushmita Sen has usually been pretty open about her relationships, whether it was filmmaker Vikram Bhatt, business honcho Sanjay Narang, or actor Randeep Hooda. Even recently, speculations were rife that the former Miss Universe was seeing cricketer Wasim Akram. Now it seems Sen would rather shush up than opening up about her personal life. Almost anticipating the question, even before you drop the hint about the alleged rumours, she begins laughing and adds quickly, “I will get married, that goes without saying. But when I will do so obviously depends on when I meet my man!” she says, without divulging more.

As of now, the actor and entrepreneur is taking a break from showbiz. Ask her why she’s been choosy about taking up films and she says, “I’ll do a film only if the script is interesting and really worth it.” At the same time, she admits, “For a lot of artistes, taking a break is suicidal. But it’s an individual thing and I’m taking one now.”

But there are other projects that are keeping her on her toes. “I have a brand of my own now. I’m working for my charity, on my line of spas, have my pageant coming up in July... and I am a mother of two,” she finishes in one breath.

“The work that I do is not a job, it’s an extension of myself,” asserts Sen. Ask her if it gets unnerving to handle so much as a single parent and she laughs, “I’m a Scorpio, I love challenges. I will lap up any opportunity that comes my way. I’ve got one life and I’ll live it my way. Nobody imposed work on me, it’s my own doing.”

Her break does not apply to her social work though. In fact, her charity I AM Foundation will raise funds for five other organisations— The Research Society, Cancer Patients Aid Association, The Energy and Resources Institute, Bal Asha Trust and ANI Foundation—with an art show, A Brush With The Divine. The open-to-all show includes 34 artists including SH Raza, Manu Parekh, Paresh Maity, amongst others.

“From the time we initiated the charity last year, we’ve been looking at various ways to creatively respond in terms of fund raising. Only after a background check, whether it does good work and utilise the money well, do we approach an NGO,” Sen clarifies.