Riya Sen makes her TV debut with a cameo in Paritosh Painter’s Shri Adi Manav. She plays herself in an episode in which the heroes enter a Win A Date with Riya Sen competition. A source from the programme says, “Despite being a Bollywood celeb she was very polite to her co-stars in the serial and thus exhibited a perfect example of being the ‘down to earth’ gorgeous diva.”

Riya also makes a small appearance in the Rituparno Ghosh Bengali movie Abhomaan. How did that come about? “I spoke to Rituparno over the phone and the next thing I knew was that I was in Calcutta,” she explains, “I didn’t ask him anything about the film or my character. I had no clue what I was going to be offered. I went to the sets with a totally blank mind and in the next 45 minutes I was delivering!” Riya sees the performance as a taster for her first real Ghosh film Noukodubi, which releases shortly.

Meanwhile, Riya’s slate is fully booked for the near future. “I am doing a satirical comedy called Benny and Bablu,” she confides, “I play a receptionist who gets into prostitution without knowing what she is getting into. It’s got an ensemble cast including Kay Kay Menon. I am also doing Jennifer, a supernatural thriller. Eddy Seth, a guy from theatre, is opposite me. We are the protagonists and it’s not a typical blood-and-horror film.”