"Yes, I have joined the bikini bandwagon" - Minissha Lamba

A much coy Minissha Lamba is going through a massive image makeover. In her soon-to-be-released Kidnap, she would be donning a bikini which certainly comes as a surprise to those who have been following her career in films like Yahaan, Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd, Shaurya and Bachna Ae Haseeno.

"Well, it is shocking for quite a few people but if you ask me, I am really enjoying it all", says Minissha who has seen an eventful 2008 so far, "Seriously, I felt beautiful when I donned the bikini for Kidnap. And though people do ask me how comfortable I was with the thought of wearing a bikini, let me tell you that I was more focused on getting my body into the right shape than worrying about anything else."

Talking about her decision to join the bikini bandwagon, Minissha admits, "Yes, I have joined the bikini bandwagon. After all, not many girls are doing it even today, isn't it? In any case when you see Kidnap, you would realize that the makeover isn't for the sake of it. This was meant to be a part of the character and I was duly convinced that donning a bikini was indeed an integral part of the script."

While industry and cine-goers are definitely noticing this makeover, what were the kind of reactions that she got from people close to her - read friends and family? "We are not grown up in a conservative household and together, we watch a lot of Hollywood films", discloses Minissha, "Something like a bikini is hardly a culture shock since as a family, we are quite modern in our outlook and very progressive. In any case, everyone today understands that at the end of the day, it is just a part that you are playing for a film. The buck stops there."

By wearing a bikini for Kidnap, Minissha now joins the gang of young women who have willingly agreed to get into the costume for a Sanjay Gadhvi film. After Esha Deol (Dhoom) and Bipasha Basu (Dhoom 2), she is the new bikini girl for Gadhvi.

"And I am so very proud of that", exclaims Minissha, "When Sanjay told me that I had to go through this image change in Kidnap, I was game for it. I feel it was great to explore a new side of me. Going by the reaction that I am getting from people, I guess the experiment has indeed paid off."