Models strut and go, but it’s the showstopper who seals and steals the show. And now that she’s way over her modelling days, Tulip Joshi, in her black high gum boots, has very nicely strutted to the ‘showstopping’ aisle and joined the starry line-up. It’s a thin line, muses the lady, and she has crossed it, just like she’s crossed over to cinema, the first stop being Yashraj’s Mere Yaar Ki Shaadi Hai. But that was ages back, we cut to the present, where Tulip’s sticking to her own formula of pick ‘n’ choose. There have been errors of judgment, but then, “I’m not the kind who lives in the past. I’d rather learn from my mistakes and move on,” she brushes aside every comment and controversy. Instead, she sifts through an assortment of film in her kitty and comes out with the latest, which also brings her to town. “It’s called Nishchey Kar Apni Jeet Karoon, and it’s a Nahar and Puneet Moviez Pvt Ltd Production,” Tulip takes a break after the mahurat shot. The film’s a Bollywood-Hollywood venture and according to Tulip, she plays a Muslim girl called Sarah, who is the “relief factor in the film.” “It’s a very intense script, but I am part of the happy moments and lovely songs.” Another project that Tulip’s lapped up is Baljeet Deol’s Jag Jeondiyan De Mele starring Harbhajan Mann. “Baljeet is a photographer and it’s always a pleasure working with one because they have immense knowledge of right angles and frames.” Was it easy carrying off Punjabi dialogues? “Language has never been a bar for me at least. I’ve worked down south, so yes, it’s interesting.”

As she counts her films - from heavy weights like Dhokha and Matrubhoomi to in pipeline comedy Daddy Cool with Aftab Shivdasani and Runway in which she plays a happy bar dancer, we join the dots on her cinematic graph. “It’s quite skewed,” she smiles, “that’s because I don’t want to be stuck in the typecast net.” So, it was a conscious decision to pendulate back forth, from hardcore to light hearted. “If I have to refresh my acting skills, I’ll watch Matrubhoomi, but if I have to strike a balance, I have to juggle.” While she agrees it’s a male dominated industry and it’s rare that 40-year-old actress would get to romance a 19-year-old hero, but then, “As a star you have your limitations, but as an actor, you only grow.”