As Desi Boyz readies for release, Chitrangada Singh talks about playing teacher to Akshay Kumar, doing an item number in Joker and why she wants to continue being the poster girl of parallel cinema You have undergone an image makeover for Desi Boyz. Is it a deliberate step towards exploring commercial cinema?

I needed to explore outside offbeat films. I wanted to see if I can go for a bit of personality change and experiment with different genres. I have been envious of Kareena Kapoor she gets to do Omkara and also Golmaal. I am getting the opportunity to do so now. But more than me, it was director Rohit Dhawan’s idea that I do Desi Boyz. The timing was perfect because I had been waiting to do something different and crazy. The film seems to revolve around Akshay Kumar and John Abraham. What role do you play in the film?

I play Tanya Sharma, a professor at the Oxford University. Akshay’s character Jerry and Tanya have a past. When Tanya was a student, Jerry was her senior and she had a huge crush on him. But then they lost touch when he quit college. When he comes back to complete his studies, Tanya has rejoined the college as a professor. It is totally fantastical as she is still stuck on him and whenever Jerry is around, everything goes into slow motion.