From a police officer's wife in Dabangg (2010), Sonakshi Sinha will now play a gangster's moll in Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai 2. And since the mafia flick is set in the '80s, Sonakshi plans to watch "quite a few" films from that period so that she gets her role right. "As part of my homework, I have to watch a lot of movies from that era to understand the fashion, behaviour and other nuances," says Sonakshi, who starts shooting for the film in a few months.

For the uninitiated, the sequel's story is set in the '80s, when the Mumbai underworld was fascinated with Bollywood, especially the women. It was not uncommon at that time for starlets to be romantically linked to gangsters. Rumour has it that Sonakshi's character is based on Dawood Ibrahim's one-time lover, yesteryear actor Mandakini.

Although the Rowdy Rathore leading lady refuses to accept that her role was inspired by a real-life actor, she does plan to seek advice from someone in her own life - her mother Poonam Sinha. "My mother is always there for me with inputs and suggestions. But I believe that I am in good hands with (director) Milan Luthria. If nothing else, I am sure it will be a huge learning experience for me," she says. While Akshay Kumar is signed on to play the role supposedly inspired by Ibrahim, actor Imran Khan will star as a rival don in the Ekta Kapoor production.