Rockstar was offered to me first: Diana Penty

Fans might have gone crazy over Diana Penty aka Meera of Cocktail but the 25-year-old model- turned-actor had zero confidence when she signed the movie, reports Minakshi Saini.

Fans might have gone crazy over Diana Penty aka Meera of Cocktail but the 25-year-old model- turned-actor had zero confidence when she signed the movie.

“What a journey it has been since day one till the release. In the beginning, as I was new to the industry, I had zero confidence. I
was not sure whether I’ll be able to pull it off. But Dinesh saw the potential and made me realise that I could do it,” says Diana, confessing that her director Homi Adjania and producer Dinesh Vijan’s strong faith in her, helped when she needed it the most.

Diana would have joined Bollywood a year ago, with Ranbir Kapoor’s Rockstar but things didn’t work in her favour. “When I decided to work in movies, I started meeting people. I met Imtiaz Ali (director of Rockstar) to discuss the role but soon after that Cocktail happened and I was signed for Meera’s role,” she says.

Diana feels fortunate to make her debut with Cocktail as she went through the much needed grill. “As I am not from a film background, I had no prior experience of acting. So I started from the scratch and took training in acting, had script reading sessions, learnt different forms of dance, took diction and voice training. So basically, I got the best training in all the fields that was required to prepare for this role,” she says.

Now post the release of the film, Diana seems to be enjoying the limelight. “I have never experienced anything of this sort in my life before. So I’m excited, I’m scared… basically I don’t know how to react. It is all very new to me, so I’m learning to deal with it,” says Diana, who enjoyed working with Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone. “Saif is extremely spontaneous as he would bring something new to every take by improvising it while Deepika is a hard working girl…I wish I could have been like her,” she says.

Nargis fakhri played the lead
After discussing the role with Diana Penty, director Imtiaz Ali finally zeroed upon 32-year-old American model Nargis Fakhri (above) opposite actor Ranbir Kapoor. The diva has not got any film post her blockbuster debut.

Diana speaks...

On her debut
It was a learning experience. Everyone was good to me, protected me and made me comfortable

Joining Bollywood
I was modelling for five years until I got a call from Illuminati. I couldn’t believe for the longest time that I had landed the role

On Delhi
I’m not very familiar with Delhi. We shot the climax of Cocktail here, and I love the city’s food