Took Me A While To Find My Feet In Bollywood: Diana Penty

But four years after Cocktail came out, Happy Bhag Jayegi happened.

‘When I came across Happy Bhag Jayegi, I knew it would be the perfect second film for me.

It was a funny, yet sweet story and it gave me the opportunity to play a character that was remarkably different from Meera. Since people had already labelled me as the shy, girl next door, I thought this would be a great way to give them something they weren’t expecting. ‘When I look back now, I realise that though it took me a while to find my feet, I eventually managed to chart my own course and find a space I’m happy in,’ Diana told IANS.

​She says while the Meera of Cocktail was a lot like her in real life, her second film gave her ‘the opportunity to break the mould and to prove that I could play this loud, vivacious character called Happy’.

‘After Happy Bhag Jayegi released, a lot of people that knew me, my personality and my demeanour were pleasantly surprised with my portrayal of Happy. I’m generally soft spoken, very measured, and I think 500 times before I say something. But Happy was the antithesis of me.

‘She spoke in decibels raised to the power of 500, was extremely impulsive, didn’t think twice before she spoke and was a complete ‘muhphat’. So yes, it took me a while to overcome my inhibitions and get into the skin of the character. But once I managed to do that, it was the most liberating experience of my life,’ said Diana, who also featured in Lucknow Central last year and in Parmanu – The Story of Pokhran earlier this year.