STAR HUNT

Nafisa Now...
Get a housefull of va va voom MTV VJ, Nafisa Joseph, as she chats about her life, veejaying and cats!
By Ambica Sharma

Are you working towards a political career like you said when you became Miss India?
Well, actually the more I look at it, the more it seems a little bleak. I don't know, I think it is too early to say now. Maybe when I am 35 or something, if I do get into it, it will be on the environmental front.

How did you get involved in animal rights?
I have always loved animals since I was very young. I once went to a do organised by Maneka Gandhi in Bangalore, I heard what she had to say, but then like everyone else, I thought that these organisations did not do anything much. After I won Miss India, I decided to dedicate time to it and after that I joined work actively. Right now I am with PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals), it's an American organisation. They are not into field work and stuff, they are more into creating awareness through advertising.

Which animal do you like?
I used to love dogs until I discovered cats. I just adore cats and have a whole lot of them. The first cat I had was a stray one, I found it outside an ice-cream parlour and called it Baskin. After that there was no stopping me. I have six Siamese Persian cats in Mumbai. (Blue-the wife, Turquoise-the late husband, Aqua-the daughter, Sultan-2nd husband, Uko-son, Dreko and Angel-twins.) Then I have one cat in Bangalore called Mee, because it could not meow properly! They are my babies.

How did veejaying happen? After Miss India, usually it's movies.
I know that is the usual trend. What happened was that I was a judge at the MTV VJ Hunt, where Nikhil, Maria and all were chosen. Then I got a call from MTV, asking me to come for a screen test. Now, I had seen the Hunt and I was wondering whether I would be able to do it or not. I went for the test and then they called me to say that I was on. So it was all one big fluke.
What's the best thing about being a VJ?

Ummm, there is not just one good thing about being a VJ, it is a package deal. It is a fun job and you get paid to party and have a good time and make people have a good time, which is great. We travel, which is a lot of fun, we interact with youngsters, people our own age. You are always in the limelight.

How did you end up in the serial C.A.T.S?
Oh, that was again by fluke. I didn't want to get into acting. I was very happy doing MTV, it took up my time, I was content. Then a friend of mine asked me if I would like to act in a serial. I said no, I can't act, I don't know how to act. Then she told me that the shoot was in Goa, I thought, 'Wow, ten days in Goa and I am getting paid for it too!' We shot for the pilot episode of a serial called Viva La Goa, where I play a very nice character called Maria, who is Portugese-Indian.
Now this pilot episode was sent around to the channels and Raveena at Sony saw it. Then through a common friend, she asked me if I wanted to do Kareena's role in C.A.T.S. When I heard the story and the character of Kareena, it gelled with me. I was very curious about the character and the plot, the guns and action and girl power kind of thing.

Do you identify with Kareena?
Kareena and I are both daredevils. We do first and think later, which is not very good but... But that is where the similarity ends. Kareena comes from this disturbed family background, she never got love and affection from her parents; I, on the other hand, had and have a very happy and normal family life.

Are you getting film offers?
Yes, I am. But I am not going to accept them at all. Well, let's see. You know when I first came in I thought I would never act, I can't do it, but voila! I am in a serial. If I get a role that is beyond compare and the story is good and the director is good and then if the rest falls into place, maybe. It is a one in a hundred chance-see, I am not saying one in a million-so if it happens, maybe!

What was it like when you were a teenager?
When I was at at Bishop Cotton School, I wanted to be a lawyer, then I wanted to be a vet, then it was hotel management, then I went back to becoming a lawyer, so it has been a pretty hotch-potch thing. Veejaying, acting, modelling were definitely not in the plot. See, my parents are very strict, in the sense that I was allowed to go to the disc only when I was actually 18. Today teenagers are in the disc the moment they hit their teens. They are there and with it, that was not the case in Bangalore at all.

When I joined college at St Joseph's, I was very actively involved in everything but academics. But then I made up for it by cramming in the week before the exams and did well.

Which do you prefer-veejaying, modelling or acting?
I love being photographed, I love the ramp. I love veejaying and I love the perks. I am not saying this because these guys from MTV are here, but because it is one of those ideal jobs. It gives you everything you want, it is a very comfortable job... I always tell them that I am overpaid and underworked!

Have you ever been in love?
I pretty much am in love!!! I love the guy a lot but I won't give you the name, he is a model-actor. It has been just eight or nine months.

What do you love most about this guy?
The thing I love the most is that he is very difficult to be with! Together we make a good couple. I am a bit of an extreme and he balances me out. He has me on my toes all the time. I am always thinking 'Oh my god, what is he going to do next'. He, is very particular that I reach our meeting place on time. He on the other hand, can be late! I like that, I like that. I pamper him, he is like a little baby! At the same time, he is much older than me.

What kind of music do you listen to?
No favourites as such. It depends on my mood, in a sad mood I listen to the blues, mushy music, more of mushy music actually. I love trance, I love rave-that is the kind of music I like. And the rest, the girlbands and the boybands keep coming and going.

What does success mean to you?
Here today, gone tomorrow. I don't take it for granted. But it is fun to be successful. ¨

nafisa on...
... how to make a good first impression

• The way you say hi.
• The warmth you project.
  
• Dress neatly, for the occasion, it is not necessary to have makeup on at all.
  
• Leave your house in a good frame of mind, or stay in.

... guys how to treat girls

• Leave your MCP attitude at home in your mom's trunk.
  
• Get free of mom's apron strings.
  
• Understand that women want to be independent and be modern, but not to the extent that we lose our feminity and our softness. All we are trying to do is to make them think that there is nothing that we can't do.