Have a hunger to do things that are different: Diana Penty

She will be seen in an action-packed avatar in Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran, and will be revisiting the Happy Bhag Jayegi universe for the sequel. Diana Penty says she wants to explore different genres, but would refrain from doing anything "drastic".

"I would love to try new things, try new roles and play different characters. It is something that I have always wanted and it is something that I have always tried to do with each film that I do. I try to make it different from the previous film, the role and the character," she says, adding, "There is a hunger to kind of do things that are different."

But that doesn't mean she will try everything that comes her way. The actor says she will weigh things and decide accordingly. "I don't know how drastic I would be... Like going bald is drastic. That is not something so easy and casual. It is a big deal... at least for me. So that is something I would definitely try to find a way around," she says. "In our industry, there are ways to get around things, like you can do it artificially or use prosthetic. There are certain ways to get the feel of that thing instead of actually doing it; if that is possible, then why not? At the end of the day, there are other projects that you might be doing, or might be working on two films at the same time, or have a brand to endorse. You cannot completely change your look one day," she adds.

After making a name for herself as a model, Diana walked into showbiz with Cocktail, which also featured Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone, in 2012.

Despite a successful debut, Diana maintained her distance from the big screen and did her second film Happy Bhag Jayegi in 2016. Thereafter, she promised her fans that she will not take long breaks, and she has kept her word.

Her last on-screen outing was Lucknow Central, and she will next be seen as carefree Happy in Happy Bhag Jayegi Returns. Diana says the sequel, with Sonakshi Sinha on board, is a continuation of the first part, which narrated the story of a girl named Happy who ran away from her wedding and reached Pakistan by mistake.

She also has Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran in her kitty, which also stars John Abraham. The actor says it is a story waiting to be told. "Parmanu is definitely a very different subject for me. It is based on true events -- which is the nuclear tests that India conducted (in Pokhran, Rajasthan, in 1998). The event changed the history of our country and made us a nuclear power. It was a life-changing event for the country; so it is good to be part of stories like that. It is an important story to tell, not only to our country but to the rest of the world," she says.

What about her role? "I have a different role to play. I am doing action for the first time, which is something I have never attempted before, something I have to prep for. I have undergone training for a couple of months and did kick-boxing. It is exciting because it is so different."