Frankly, the girl Next door tag was quite upsetting: Regina Cassandra

Everybody called Regina Cassandra Tollywood���s next Genelia D���Souza ��� that sweet, bubbly, girl-next-door. But admittedly, the actress hated that tag. She has been working hard to shed the sweet girl image for some time now, and a racy picture that she posted on Facebook recently proves that the transformation is now complete. the new Regina Cassandra is a far cry from the cute Telugu ammayi we���ve seen onscreen.She���s not just uber stylish, but also smoking hot. And unlike her acting career, which sort of fell into her lap when she wasn���t even looking for it, this metamorphosis from girl-next-door to sultry-siren is no accident, she admits. ���Frankly, this girl-next-door tag was quite upsetting. I mean, people were typecasting me, and that is dangerous for any performer,��� she says, as she settles down for a chat that was long due.
So, tell us what���s this transformation all about... For the longest time, I heard people say, ���this girl can���t carry off a glamorous role...���, ���she is only fit for girl-next-door characters���. And I believe, over the years I���ve broken the mould with the variety of roles I have done. All I wanted was a chance, and yet here they were ready to write me off. I wanted to prove these people wrong, because at the end of the day I���m an actor and I wanted to be versatile.
Therefore, this ���new Regina���, who���s high on style and glamour? To be honest, I never really understood this concept of being glamourous or doing glam roles in the early part of my career. I���ve always been a girl who is comfortable in my shirts and jeans in real life. I don���t really fuss about my clothes and appearance that much. But like I said, some three years ago, people actually said horrendous things like I can���t look ���nice���.
That���s when I decided to get myself a stylist! I was like, ���let���s live up to the image of an ���actress���. And might as well, since I have all these events to attend and appearances to make...! So, now it���s her headache to make me look good (laughs). I like hiring people to do things that I can���t be too bothered about doing myself; that way I don���t have to stress about it. My job is to go for shoots, do good work and come back. But I ensure that the final call is always mine, whether it���s the clothes I wear or the scripts I choose. I���m stubborn like that, I like to live life on my terms.
The transformation seems to have landed you a handful of films... Oh yeah! Currently, I���m shooting for Subramaniam For Sale with Sai Dharam Tej. I have another film with Gopichand lined up and also a film with Manchu Manoj. Thankfully, the fourth film with Vishnu Manchu will still take some time. It feels great when people like your work. And I surely take pride in that; it not only makes me happy but encourages me to do more good work.
Of all your costars, who do you count among your friends? I have loads of friends in Tollywood ��� Rakul Preet Singh, Sundeep Kishan, Raashi Khanna and Tej. But I don���t really believe in the ���best friend��� concept. I get along well with Rakul because we shared the same manager and we got to spend a lot of time with each other. But that apart, I do not mix my professional and personal lives. I���m a very private person. Even when I���m in Hyderabad shooting, after I am done with work, I head to the gym. After the workout, I am pretty much dead and I just hit the bed. On social media as well, although I do share my pictures and speak up when I feel about something strongly, I ensure I stay within limits. I rarely attend parties, unless unavoidable. I am not a very outgoing person, I guess.
So many friends; so is there a special someone as well? Well, till two-and-a-half years ago, I was in a serious relationship, but right now, I���m single. I don���t have time for a relationship; it���s just not something I want right now. That said, I am a diehard romantic. I���ve fallen in love so many times (laughs). Being in love is such an amazing feeling, so why would anybody avoid it? And I can���t bring myself to deny it or lie about it! I still remember, my first crush ��� he was a neighbour in Chennai. I was in class IV then. It was so dramatic. It was ���puppy love���, and the best thing was he used to treat me like just another boy. So we would jump from one balcony to the other, hold hands and walk ��� it was so cute. We were friends for almost six years, till he moved abroad. Years later, he landed at my doorstep one day to meet me. I was so mad at him for not being in touch that I asked him to go to hell. Since then, I���ve not been in touch with him, but he���s one person I���ll never forget. After that, I had lot of crushes in school and college (laughs).