Sush, fun and fearless at 33

MUMBAI: Actress Sushmita Sen, who will celebrate her 33rd birthday in Goa on November 19, says she isn’t looking for romance. Despite having a string of affairs behind her, she also says she doesn’t dump men.

“Let’s just say I’m single and ready to mingle... does that sound too trite? I’m beyond that stage where I have to party and be with 500 people to feel special. Every moment is special and I need no endorsement for it from the outside. Just being with the people who really matter to me is celebration enough,” Sushmita said.

But why does she get tired of all her relationships? “You mean, do I dump the men? That’s not true. Initially, everything is hunky-dory in a relationship. Then there has to be some dori (thread) to hold hunky guy in our relationship. If not, then move on.” Talking about marriage, she said, “Marriage hasn’t happened. It will happen when it happens. What guarantee is there that after getting into marriage and after 20 years of togetherness, I won’t discover it was the wrong move for me?” Right now she is in Goa with her birthday entourage, which consisted of 17 very close family members and friends, including, of course, daughter Renee who at the moment occupies centre stage in Sushmita’s life.

One of the highest points of Sushmita’s life this year and a good way to bring in her birthday was the Fun Fearless Female award, which she got alongside Shah Rukh Khan in Cosmopolitan magazine’s first awards in India. “I like being perceived as fun and fearless because that’s the way I am. It was a kind of lifetime achievement before my birthday. A little premature, don’t you think? But seriously, what made the award so special was that my daughter Renee was there to see her mother get this award. This was the first time she ever attended an awards function where her mother got an award. It felt wonderful to see Renee looking so proud of me.”