Lely Semelohe: February 2008

Priyanka Chopra rebuffs rumours that she has lost weight to play a model in Madhur Bhandarkar's "Fashion".

"It's the silliest story I've heard about myself in a long time.... on a par with the one about me being in Sydney with Harman Baweja for the New Year when I was actually shooting an ad in Bangkok," Priyanka told IANS.

"No, nobody has told me to do anything for the role in 'Fashion'. Madhur Bhandarkar and I share great rapport. He didn't ask me to lose weight for the character," she added.

However, Priyanka has worked on herself for her next two roles as well.

"I always like to work on my character. That's why I work on one film at a time. For 'Fashion' I opted for a toned body. I went on a health-conscious diet, though I didn't cut down on my food or anything. And I'll be using the same physique for my film with Karan Johar," she said.

"It's set on the beach of Miami. Imagine two months on the sun and sand and so the toned body would be just what the dietician ordered. But, sorry, I don't get into a bikini for Karan's film," Priyanka was firm.

Karan's film also features Abhishek Bachchan and John Abraham. Priyanka says she doesn't endorse anorexic figures.

"It isn't about getting thin at all. It's just about toning my body. I don't think you need to be reed-thin to be beautiful. I think Indian women look terrible when they try to get anorexic. We (Indian women) are naturally healthy. And by that I don't mean voluptuous," she says.

"But, yes, we've been given a certain kind of figure. We're well proportioned and aesthetically endowed in all the right places. And by getting exceptionally thin, we're going against nature."

Told that her co-star Kangana Ranaut is inherently reed-slim, Priyanka laughed: "Yes, but she loves her food. She just has her own individual body type. Kangana and I share plenty of health tips. We got along really well. I really think she's sweet.

"When Madhur decided to cast Kangana, I was so happy. She really suits her part. So, the other story that really bugs is that we're fighting over scenes in 'Fashion'. On the contrary we've a lot of fun together."

Source : http://www.bollywoodworld.com/