No matter what she does, she makes headlines. Veena Malik, who is known for her audacious acts on screen and sometimes off it too, was in Ahmedabad recently to promote an upcoming film when we caught up with her. Excerpts:

You have two films lined up right now. So has your Bollywood career finally started rolling?
Well, I never thought that my Bollywood career was stuck! Whatever I have done, be it television (Bigg Boss 4) or my item songs (Channo, Gali Gali Chor Hai) — has been talked about. I've had a good run in southern films as well. So it's not as if I'm starting my film career now. Actually, it has been my good fortune that the Indian film industry has never let me feel like an outsider. I've always felt at home here.

So then why you are looked at more critically than others even though everyone exposes in the film industry?
That is something that even I have been trying to decode. Why do people talk about me all the time? I have not done anything that others haven't. Am I the only one to wear a bikini, or to kiss on screen or for that matter give a backless shot in my films? So many actresses, even A-listers, have done all this. Then why only I'm being targeted? I am really puzzled about this.

It's not just you. Even Sherlyn Chopra, Poonam Pandey and Rozlyn Khan are talked about.
Well, it's totally unfair to compare me with them. I am not a porn star. I have never given a frontal nude shot. People always misunderstand this. There is a difference between a backless scene and a frontal nude scene. I don't understand why people compare me with them.

But you manage to be in the news anyway. That works for you right?
That's not the agenda. I feel I get victimized because I'm from Pakistan. Recently I made a comment on the Sarabjit case and I was bombarded with hate comments on my social networking page. I speak out on issues that I feel strongly about. I'd love it if there is peace between the two countries. But no one sees that there's a serious side to me. They don't see beyond my image.

There were rumours that you got married in a low profile ceremony.
Well, you should know how the media works! The media has decided so many things about my personal life. Sometimes I come to know of my marriage and affairs through newspapers and news channels. So I don't if I am married. You tell me!

You recently said in an interview that you haven't got your desired roles. What kind of roles do you desire?
I want to do something that is not me. If I see myself onscreen and find a little bit of me in the character then I would know that I am not a good actor. I want to do roles that are poles apart from my self. I wouldn't mind doing the role of a 90 year old, or a playing a kid or anything for which I would need to undergo a lot of hard work. I am just keeping my fingers crossed.