Since the time she made her first foray into Bollywood, Kangana Ranaut, has been a star in the making. She has a penchant for wooing her directors with her flamboyant sex appeal and her great histrionic talents. Every hotshot director from Mahesh Bhatt to Mukesh Bhatt to Anurag Basu has never got tired of appreciating her superb acting skills. Mukesh Bhatt has gone to the extent of anointing her as the future superstar of the country. Well, one thing is for sure, there is no dearth of fans who would agree with Mr. Bhatt on that account. For Kangana, surely destiny has cast its web in strange ways. When she was a child, the pretty lass from Himachal Pradesh had never dreamed of being a film star someday.

In fact her ambition was to be a doctor. But that was not to be, it just wasn't her destiny to be a doctor, who cures her patients of their physical ailments, her destiny was to be a glamorous Bollywood siren, a sex symbol who would break hearts. Reminiscing those early days, she says, "I schooled in Himachal Pradesh. I had taken up science and, initially, wanted to become a doctor. There are few career options for students of science though, so I shifted to Delhi and decided to try theater instead. I joined a group called Ashmita, and did two plays there - Madhavi and Rakht Kalyan. As I was still unsure of what I wanted to do, I began sending photographs of myself to advertising agencies. I even took up classes in French because I thought of shifting to Paris, where models have always had a chance."

Thankfully for her fans in India, she eventually stayed back and found an opportunity in Bollywood. She bagged her first major role in Bollywood in September 2005, when she was drinking coffee with one of her friends at a café in Mumbai. Here filmmaker Anurag Basu, who was on the lookout for a fresh face that he could cast as the heroine of his movie Gangster, noticed her in the café. There was a screen test in which Kangana gave a very impressive performance. The film got made and playing a complex role that required her to demonstrate various shades in her character, Kangana did a great job and delivered as a pro. When Gangster was released and went on to be a blockbuster in her native state, she was beside herself with joy. "Himachal Pradesh is proud of me!" she chirps. "I keep getting calls from there."

These days Kangana has a spate of new film projects lined up to keep her busy during the next few years. Who knows one of these films might prove to be the singular super hit that will transmogrify her into the top female star in Bollywood. Kangana impresses not just by her celluloid performances, but also by her immaculate sense of dressing. She could easily qualify as one of the best-dressed women in the country. She says, “I love to be in vogue. I have more of a western taste. I am not too much into Indian dresses. I only wear them occasionally for marriages and parties. I think western outfits really gel with my personality.”

About her love life! She is still looking for her ideal man. She says, "My ideal guy has to be very sensitive. Sensitivity towards others is the most important quality that attracts me to a guy. Also a good personality is a must." She was an early beginner in her quest for the ideal person in her life. This is what she has to say about her first date, "That was at the age of 16. I went on a blind date in school and it turned out to be a real disaster, contrary to what I'd expected." At 16 Kangana might have proved to be too young to get the most out of her date, but now she is a ripe enough to be plucked by her ideal man.