'Kidnap was my birthday gift'

The Chak De! India hockey team captain, Vidya Malvade, has now been cast opposite Sanjay Dutt in the much talked about Kidnap.

Revealing how she bagged the role, she smiles, "I had a phone call on my birthday in March last year. It was from Sanjay Gadhvi, the director of Kidnap, asking me if I wanted to play Sanjay Dutt's romantic interest in the film. I read the script and absolutely loved it. I knew I had to do it and agreed almost immediately. I look at Kidnap as a wonderful birthday present."

"I trust Sanjay Gadhvi blindly. I've known him for a long time. In fact, he's one of the first few people I met on entering the industry, the other being Ken Ghosh. I'm really proud of Kidnap," she adds.

Elaborating on the film, she remarks, "It's an engaging edge-of-the-seat drama, which everyone will enjoy. The response to the promos has been fantastic and I can't wait for it to release. It's Sanjay Dutt's first release of 2008 and Imran Khan's first after Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. Thankfully, I will be in Japan on an assignment till the release of the film so that will quell my nervousness and anxiety to some degree!"

Ask Vidya about the difference between Shah Rukh Khan and Sanjay Dutt, she laughs, "Shah Rukh is full of energy and life. Sanjay Dutt is more reserved and chilled out. Beneath the deadly Dutt there is a soft and tame being. I call him a gentle giant. I absolutely admire him and enjoyed working with him in Kidnap. We've even got a brilliant song together, sung by Adnan Sami - it's called Haanji. Check it out!"

Released by Indian Films-Studio 18 worldwide, Kidnap is out in cinemas on Eid, which is on October 1.