Rumours of the growing ‘friendship’ between Riya Sen and novelist Salman Rushdie were splashed all over the papers a few days ago. While Rushdie stated they are indeed good friends, Riya got very upset upon being asked about their association. “Please don’t keep asking me this question,” she snapped. “I don’t want to comment!”

Riya prefers not to talk about her personal life, but gladly speaks volumes about her upcoming projects. She is currently shooting for Tara Sitara, in which she takes on the role of two popular characters from the epics. “I play Draupadi and Sita from the Mahabharata and Ramayana,” she says. “The film is a comedy, a spoof. Comedy is quite hard to do. In fact, it is harder than serious cinema for an actor, because regardless of whether you are happy or sad on a particular day, you have to try and make people laugh.” Let’s hope her connection with Rushdie is at least helping her stay in a good mood, if nothing else!