How Net-savvy are you, on a scale of 1 to 10?:
I would rate myself a 1/10. I wish I were more Net savvy. I have so much to learn about using the computer. The short-cuts, for instance, which would make for a faster computing experience. When I bought my laptop, I dragged my computer-savvy neighbour along to help me pick the right model. Now I really tinker with it… Jaggu Dada ( Jackie Shroff) really helped me get the maximum out of my computer, during our shoots together.

How often do you surf:
I try and log on everyday at least for an hour. My favourite activity on the Net is email and forwarding jokes. I also chat with my friends and parents, who don't live in Bombay, on MSN Messenger. The other activity is surfing sites on fashion and the latest movies.

Your favourite hangouts on the Internet:
My only stop online, apart from checking my mail, is the search engine, Google. What I like is about it that I can find information about anybody on the Net. From the college they studied in to their pictures to what they are currently doing.

That site takes me anywhere I want to go. I just key in the topic that I am looking for -- whether it is new film releases or simply latest news from Hollywood. Like I found out that they were casting for an Indian girl for the Matrix in Hollywood... I also surf sites reccomended by friends.

What you like best about the World Wide Web:
What I like about the Net is that it makes communicating with anybody so simple. No matter where they are. I love talking and keeping in touch with my friends.

If you could change something about the Internet, it would be:
Nothing at all. I think it is amazing how Net savvy young Indians are. I truly believe in what Mrs Indira Gandhi had said, "India might have missed the Industrial age, but will not miss the Technology age!"

Do you go ego-surfing, checking out sites or pages devoted to you?:
All the time. It is great fun to find old pictures and even older interviews that you thought didn't exist. Sometimes I cannot believe that I have said some of the things that I have been quoted to have said. I even enjoy reading comments on message boards and discussions about my role in a movie.

If you could buy anything, online, it would be:
I have never shopped for anything online. I am too scared of my credit card being misused. Maybe, if they made the process simpler, I wouldn't mind shopping. I think appearances can be very deceptive, especially where clothes are concerned. I would rather try them on before buying. Besides, there is no fun shopping sitting closetted between four walls.

Your idea of a perfect Web site:
I am trying to create my own Web site. If I could, it would probably be very funny, have lots of interesting pictures of mine, in interesting hairstyles and lots of different makeup. It would be a very young and fresh looking Web site.

Have you ever chatted with a stranger?:
I don't enjoy chatting with strangers unless it is before a film release or just after it has been released. But I do enjoy getting feedback from my audience especially on the Net. Like recently, I was very sceptical about my role in Kuch Khatti Kuch Meethi. But people had such nice things to say about that cameo: they thought I was funny and looked good, danced well. It was a good mood booster!

Strangest experience online:
I had just been hooked online, when one day a whole bunch of porn sites kept opening up one after the other on my screen. I just couldn't figure out how to shut them off and wondered how they had suddenly started appearing out of the blue.

Another fun incident was in a chat room. One of the guys couldn't believe it was really me that he was chatting with. He spent so much time, checking and commenting, "Is it really you Pooja?," that eventually he ended up not talking to me at all.

Additional Resources

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